Hi John,
I’ve heard you talk of slander/slanderer many times, but today went beyond what I remember having heard in times past. You brought it right out into the light, and with the antidote: sincerity and the love of God. I’ve been reading my notes, and I especially like this: “The answer is as simple as slander is complex.”
Thanks,
Debbie T
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John
When I think of the quality of sincerity, which you emphasized Sunday morning, Brother Glen comes to mind.
I have often wondered how to balance sincerity with the scripture a fool utters all his thoughts.
I was just thinking if a person is not sincere would they be able to discern insincerity in others?
Wendell
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Hi Wendell,
First, I agree with your comment concerning Brother Glen. What a wonderfully open heart he has!
Secondly, I have contemplated the same issue concerning the balance between being sincere and not giving voice to everything that comes to mind. The Spirit lets us know the difference. That is one reason we need the Spirit so much; to know the difference between when to speak and when to be silent.
Lastly, my first feeling was that an insincere person would not be able to pick up on another person’s insincerity. But then I remembered that every person whom I have seen Satan use as a slanderer (who is by definition insincere) has been very sharp, spiritually, to pick up on some unseen things. So, my conclusion is that at least in the case of slanderers, they can pick up very quickly on the insincerity of others who are NOT over them in the Lord; that is the insincerity of other foolish virgins and the insincerity of “little ones” in Christ. As for the insincerity of God, who Himself cunningly uses Satan and his slanderers to try the hearts of His children, they cannot discern His insincerity when He blesses them. They forget that he sends rain on both the just and the unjust, and sunshine upon both the good and the evil.
jdc