PEOPLE GOT PROBLEMS, AND…..

I’ll never forget years ago what my friend Linda said, after people were asking her what she thought about the events of a nationally known figure that had fallen into the grip of sin. “People Got Problems!” she said, and “we better be careful what we say or think about them, it could happen to us.” That will stop the gossip real quick! So, its a pretty good saying…..

What do you do when you hear of someone’s sin now exposed, having them in a place in their lives that has them trapped, in a place of public pain and failure? You can begin by NOT judging them. Momma always said very simply, “you better sweep around your own door before you go sweeping around somebody else’s”. That says volumes doesn’t it? You never know what people are facing these days. And the sad thing is, they are trying to “fake it till they can made it” and appear that they are doing great, yeah! That’s what you think…NOT…. People got Problems, and they are hurting and you know what? Hurting is one thing but hurting alone is another.

As I live each day I am realizing we need each other and we need to get along. It helps to reach out, be kind and give a helping hand, accepting each other. I want to be somebody that is “trustable” if you tell me something I don’t need to go tell it to anybody else. People who make that a practice are just setting themselves up for trouble. When you want to tell something about someone just stop and ask yourself “what am I wanting to get from this?” and “is this person part of the problem or solution?” Nine times out of ten it is something all about you and the price is too high to pay, so just stop! Gossip is explained well when a mother that wanted to teach her little girl a lesson after she had told something about a friend. She took her to the attic of their house and opened a window. After ripping a feather pillow open she handed it to the little girl and said to throw the contents out the window. The child did as her mother said and as she did a gust of wind came along and blew the feathers all over the ground below. Now the mother said, “now go down there and pick every one up”. She looked at her mother and said, “that’s impossible they are everywhere and too many”. “Yes”, the mother said “ and that is the very way gossip is, your words go everywhere never to be gathered back in.

James talks about the tongue and how powerful it is in James 3:8 “but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison”. We can control the words that pass our tongue by making a choice of saying something positive about someone and not negative. Be kind to someone today. Also, it would be a good idea to stop words in their tracks, if you hear someone beginning to tell you something negative about someone. Begin to practice this. You can say, “I don’t want to hear that”, and if they continue to tell, go the second level by saying “can I use your name when I go to them to check out these facts”. That last one will usually put an end to it…. you can count on it! So you see “People Got Problems” is a full statement that means, yes they do and when we hear about them, begin to pray for them, see what act of kindness you feel you need to do. It could be a phone call, a note or just go to them being a Stretcher Bearer!