Afraid of Being in the Dark| Crosstraining 1.12.15

Proverbs 6:16-19 When I was little, I absolutely hated the dark. I always had to have a night light, and I usually got up after my mom went to bed and turned the hallway light on outside of my room to make it even brighter. While I would never admit to being afraid of the dark, I didn’t like not being able to see what was going on around me. While these days I prefer to sleep in complete darkness, I still hate being left in the dark when it comes to the latest gossip. I want to know what’s going on, who’s involved, and what everyone said about it. Just how as a kid I hated my room to be dark because I couldn’t see what was going on around me, I get caught up in wanting to know all the details to all the juiciest things going on in the lives of the people around me. Most of the time, you don’t have to hang around a group of people long before gossip starts happening. It might start innocent enough. It might be disguised as prayer requests, or the gossiper may start out bashful by saying, “well, I probably shouldn’t say anything.”, but all of this comes from our need to know what’s going on around us at all times. Rick warren has said, “When we are talking about a situation with somebody who is neither part of the problem or part of the solution, then we are probably gossipping.” Let that sink in for a moment. How much of what you say or the words you listen to fall into this category? The Bible says that God hates gossip. When we gossip we are usually talking trash about one of His children whom He loves. Imagine what it feels like to hear the negative things someone has said about your or someone you love. Not only is that how that person will feel when it gets back to them, that’s also how God feels when we talk about other people who are created in His image. God hates gossip, so if we are talking about a situation to people who aren’t part of the problem or part of the solution, we should probably stop. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:

1. What was the best part of your day?
2. What was the toughest part of your day?
3. Where did you mess up today?
4. Where did you see God today?

Reflect: Read again the quote from Rick Warren and think back through the words you spoke this past weekend. How much of the things you said would be gossip according to this definition? Why do you think we get so caught up in sharing and hearing gossip? Pray: As you begin your prayer time today, acknowledge to God that you know He hates gossip. Apologize for any time you’ve been caught up in either saying or listening to gossip recently, and ask Him to help you use your words positively in the future. READ THROUGH THE NEW TESTAMENT: Today’s Reading: Mark 6]]>