Have to Vent? Thursday, February 24, 2011

Reading: James 4:11-12, 11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

You know… there’s an awful lot of people who “bad mouth” others in the name of “needing to vent”. I have heard people go on for quite a while talking bad about someone because they “needed to vent”. What’s interesting, there is not a reference to “venting” in the Bible. Most people would say, “Well, I need to get this off my chest and I’m just sharing how I feel.” The problem is we don’t consider the fact that it is not merely the “venting” or speaking badly about someone that is the issue. It is how you are feeling. It’s not simply the fact that you verbalized this slander about someone, it is the feeling that you are experiencing, because as Jesus said in Matthew 12, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Instead of bundling up the way that you feel inside “until you’re about to explode”, as some might say, address your feelings. The way that James encourages us to address our feelings is, “who are you to judge your neighbor?” I can just imagine us responding to James, and I am guilty too, “But, James, you don’t know what he did. He did me wrong and I’m ticked off about it.” Again, “who are you to judge your neighbor?” Address the way that you feel about them, instead of looking at the only options being, storing it up inside until you feel like you’re about to explode or venting it all out and slandering your brother.

Who had wronged you that you are frustrated with and would just love to vent about?


What will you do today to address those feelings and stop judging your neighbor and brother and truly love them as a brother?

REVIEW

What did you do today to address your frustrations with another person?



How did this impact your frustration and your feeling of needing to talk badly about them or vent?