Post by Mark on Apr 5, 2008 5:56:18 GMT -8
Scripture says, "Whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives." I am most certainly loved.
Adonai spoke to me this week. I didn’t enjoy the experience a whole lot. It was a rebuke. He has this way of teaching us in exactly the most effective manner possible.
When someone says that Adonai has spoken to them, an appropriate question might be, "Do you feel lucky to be alive?" During prayer the next morning, I prayed, "How awesome is the goodness and severity of the Lord." He responded, "Son, you don’t know nothin’ about severity." It’s humiliating to come to terms with what a low threshold I have for His holiness.
The Scripture reading for this week is on the subject of leprosy. We’ve always been taught that leprosy is allegorical of sin. What few from the Christian vantage have heard is that leprosy is taught in Judaism concerning a specific kind of sin: loshon hara, or evil (worthless) speech.
Culturally, this is a bit shocking. We trivialize words. We fail to realize nor recognize their power. In Psalm 120:3, 4 the false tongue is described as "sharp arrows of the warrior" because evil speech can go a great distance, often greater than what was originally intended. It is described as "coals of the broom tree" specifically because the heat of this burning wood will continue to smolder deep inside long after it appears the fire has gone out on the surface.
Leprosy is repeatedly described as wounds that go deeper than the skin. This is loshon hara, or evil speech. It is a festering, contagious disease.
To say that there are lesser or "not so bad" sorts of lashon hara would be just like saying there are lesser or "not so bad" sorts of leprosy. One doesn’t ignore or condone little bits of leprosy because we know that, ignored, it will simply grow. We need to consider lashon hara the same way. The smallest occurrence, the casual thought, needs to be taken captive and repented of before it can be allowed to grow into something devastating.
What is lashon hara? The simple answer is that it is any comment or statement that diminishes another person in any way: cutting remarks, slander, even true statements that are spoken for the purpose of devaluing another person. This is hard for us because, as a society, we value the quick wit and deprecating humor.
Let’s look at a few examples of what Adonai says:
They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
(Psalms 12:2-4)
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
(Psalms 10:4-7)
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
(Proverbs 15:4)
What’s wrong with a little dig now and then? It doesn’t hurt anything. We are fooling ourselves; or rather, we are trying to fool others. We know that it has affect, we enjoy it. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it. It’s like Cream of Mushroom soup. There are only a very few number of children who have a good opinion of mushrooms. Yet, moms consistently serve up their casserole dishes with Cream of Mushroom soup. The kids look at it with a contorted expression of combined repulsion with horror. Mom says, "Go ahead and try it." Child responds, "It has mushrooms in it." Mom says, "You can’t even taste them." You can see the logic going through the child’s mind, though he dares not verbalize, "If you can’t even taste it, why did you put it in?"
Messiah said:
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(Matthew 12:35-36)
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
(Psalms 141:3-5)
Adonai spoke to me this week. I didn’t enjoy the experience a whole lot. It was a rebuke. He has this way of teaching us in exactly the most effective manner possible.
When someone says that Adonai has spoken to them, an appropriate question might be, "Do you feel lucky to be alive?" During prayer the next morning, I prayed, "How awesome is the goodness and severity of the Lord." He responded, "Son, you don’t know nothin’ about severity." It’s humiliating to come to terms with what a low threshold I have for His holiness.
The Scripture reading for this week is on the subject of leprosy. We’ve always been taught that leprosy is allegorical of sin. What few from the Christian vantage have heard is that leprosy is taught in Judaism concerning a specific kind of sin: loshon hara, or evil (worthless) speech.
Culturally, this is a bit shocking. We trivialize words. We fail to realize nor recognize their power. In Psalm 120:3, 4 the false tongue is described as "sharp arrows of the warrior" because evil speech can go a great distance, often greater than what was originally intended. It is described as "coals of the broom tree" specifically because the heat of this burning wood will continue to smolder deep inside long after it appears the fire has gone out on the surface.
Leprosy is repeatedly described as wounds that go deeper than the skin. This is loshon hara, or evil speech. It is a festering, contagious disease.
To say that there are lesser or "not so bad" sorts of lashon hara would be just like saying there are lesser or "not so bad" sorts of leprosy. One doesn’t ignore or condone little bits of leprosy because we know that, ignored, it will simply grow. We need to consider lashon hara the same way. The smallest occurrence, the casual thought, needs to be taken captive and repented of before it can be allowed to grow into something devastating.
What is lashon hara? The simple answer is that it is any comment or statement that diminishes another person in any way: cutting remarks, slander, even true statements that are spoken for the purpose of devaluing another person. This is hard for us because, as a society, we value the quick wit and deprecating humor.
Let’s look at a few examples of what Adonai says:
They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
(Psalms 12:2-4)
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
(Psalms 10:4-7)
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
(Proverbs 15:4)
What’s wrong with a little dig now and then? It doesn’t hurt anything. We are fooling ourselves; or rather, we are trying to fool others. We know that it has affect, we enjoy it. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it. It’s like Cream of Mushroom soup. There are only a very few number of children who have a good opinion of mushrooms. Yet, moms consistently serve up their casserole dishes with Cream of Mushroom soup. The kids look at it with a contorted expression of combined repulsion with horror. Mom says, "Go ahead and try it." Child responds, "It has mushrooms in it." Mom says, "You can’t even taste them." You can see the logic going through the child’s mind, though he dares not verbalize, "If you can’t even taste it, why did you put it in?"
Messiah said:
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(Matthew 12:35-36)
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
(Psalms 141:3-5)
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