Evil Reports

Isn't it interesting the judgements we make about people . . . judgements that we are pretty sure we're correct about, only to find out later how wrong we were? I was thinking about that this morning, as I reflected regarding an individual I heard speak recently. I was prepared to be underwhelmed and found myself, quite frankly, overwhelmed with their depth of heart and passion, our shared values and theological positions, and teaching styles. The more I heard, the better I felt about this previously somewhat rejected individual; and the more I heard the more I realized how wrong I was to form an opinion, such as I had, in the first place.

I began to think about the things I heard . . . these statements which influenced and "colored" my thinking about the person. I asked myself questions like "what did the teller know first hand, if anything, that would have caused them to feel sure enough to share such inflamatory remarks about another persons character. It was in that moment of reflection, that the Holy Spirit nudged me, and reminded me that there are those out there, who hold or, have held certain inflammatory judgements regarding me, that were based on intangible, obsecure and incorrect facts; rumors, and gossip. I remembered how that felt to me to be judged on such things. And here I had done the same thing! I was contaminated by an evil report! Armed with wrong information, I formed a judgement, and made a conscience decision to distanced myself from a creative, insightful and Godly person . . . and all because of an evil report.

You know those evil reports, right? In a nut shell, an evil report is a "distortion of facts; incomplete facts; or false information, which is usually given with wrong motives, causing the hearer to come to an inaccurate conclusion, and to respond with unscriptural solutions." Now, that's a mouthful isn't it! But, it's a wealth of truth to pay attention to.

Numbers 3:32 & 33 says "And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Now, that's an evil report . . . and, it was the kind of report that swayed opinons, discounted trust in God, and was based on anything but truth! Instead of faith rising up in the face of challenge, fear rose up. Satan will always try to thwart the victory of God in our lives. 10 spies went into the land, 8 came back with evil reports. It took the faith of two men to convince the people to trust and obey God for the victory. Whose report will you believe? Will you believe an evil report or the report of the Lord?

After this period of reflection, I asked God to forgive me for my small mindedness and my sin of believing an evil report. I was the loser in this deal. I could have had relationship with this one, but instead I lost out on their counsel, guidance, influence and wisdom. "O, Lord keep me from being infected with evil reports in the future" I cry! I pray I remember this moment, and ask the appropriate questions next time, like: "What is your reason for telling me?" And, "where did you get your information." And, "Have you personally checked out all the facts?" Finally, "Can I quote you if I check this out?" Had I asked those, I bet I would have had a heads up and not responded so foolishly! I could have been one of the two whose faith and right response swayed the multitude. Instead, sadly enough . . . I was one of the eight who passed on the same evil report I had been given. Sharing an evil report, once contaminated by it (believing it is true) is just plain gossip, slander and sin! What if . . . what if we all quit believing so quickly the things we hear, and we took them to the Lord and responded out of trust and honor? What if!