“Do not speak evil against one another” is hard when they give us so many good reasons.
Some people make it very easy to remember and rehearse what they did wrong. Have you ever replayed a conversation over and over, thinking about what you should have said? Then you tell somebody else what happened, and somehow the story gets a little better every time you tell it. At least, your part does.
James knows we will have problems with one another. He is writing to people who share a faith and still struggle to share a life. So he does not say, “Never talk about it.” He says, “Do not speak evil against one another.”
There is a difference. I may need to tell someone that I was hurt, or speak the truth. I may need help deciding what to do next. But as I do, I can also frame things the way I want because I want someone else to think less of the other person. I can choose the details that make them look their worst. I can say their name with a certain tone and trust everyone else to fill in the blanks.
Somehow, we feel free to say things about others we would never say if we had to look them in the eye.
James asks, “Who are you to judge your neighbor?” There is one judge, and thank God for that. God sees the whole person, including the parts I would rather leave out of my story about them.
But James’ question also turns the light on me.
If I am eager to make someone else look small or evil, what's really happening in my heart? Am I trying to make things right? Or do I enjoy having a story that makes me look good and them look bad?
Stay blessed...john
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