Even today it is not advisable to listen to and spread sensational tales (often not based on any fact at all) about what members of the Governing Body or their representatives have supposedly said or done. How Would You Reply? □ How can prayer help us to avoid slandering others? □ How can applying 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 help us to crush harmful gossip? □ How can self-respect help us to curb any temptation to gossip about fellow believers? □ What bearing can 1 Corinthians 15:58 have on avoiding the snares of harmful gossip? [Study Questions] 1. What capacity does our God-given brain have? 2. What question now merits consideration? 3. Why would no true Christian engage in harmful talk? 4. If we appreciate our brain and our ability to speak, how will we use our mind and our tongue? 5. What had fellow believers seen and heard in connection with Paul? 6, 7. (a) How did James show the effects of the unruly tongue? (b) What will not happen if we respect God and his Word? 8. How can prayer help us to crush hurtful gossip? 9. If tempted to slander anyone, how might we pray? 10. Rather than gossiping about others, what do we owe them? 11. How might Jesus’ illustration of the sheep and the goats give us some food for thought regarding hurtful gossip? 12. What is the essence of Proverbs 16:2, and how should it affect our thoughts, actions, and speech? 13. (a) How can the fact that “love is long-suffering and kind” help in crushing harmful gossip? (b) What will keep us from speaking against someone who receives a privilege of service that we do not have? 14. What else is there about love that would affect what we say about others? 15. (a) How should we be affected by the fact that ‘love believes and hopes all things’? (b) What facets of love can help us to stick with Jehovah’s organization even if others speak against it? 16. How was Paul treated by false brothers in Corinth? 17. With what sort of words was Diotrephes talking about the apostle John? 18. How did Demetrius differ from Diotrephes, and how might this contrast affect our conduct? 19. How did false brothers seek to defame C. T. Russell? 20. What fault did Paul find with some younger widows? 21. What bearing does 1 Corinthians 15:58 have on avoiding the snares of harmful gossip? 22. What does Proverbs 6:16-19 say about God’s view of slanderers? 23. As regards our speech, how can we make Jehovah’s heart rejoice? [Picture Credit Line on page 17] U.S. Forest Service photo
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 12:54:35 +0000
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