Fire Prevention for Churches

Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

Proverbs 26:20

A single match can start a raging fire capable of destroying the largest forest, but only if the conditions are right. Only if there's plenty of fuel to burn. If you drop that same match on a wet patch of grass or in the middle of a dirt path it will simply burn itself out. In the same way, a divisive and angry church member can destroy a church only if the conditions are right. Just like fire, conflict needs fuel to keep burning. 

Proverbs 26:20 tells us that this fuel is gossip. Literally, gossip can be rendered whispering or murmuring. That's what feeds the quarrel and causes it to grow. Without gossip a single, angry church member can't do much damage. He'll burn himself out and leave the church. It's when others start to whisper about what's going on that the conflict spreads. 

As word gets around some people feel the need to take sides (often based more on relational or familial ties than on the details of the situation at hand). Others feel the need to sit in judgment and give their opinion. Many try to apply pressure to church leaders by making passive aggressive threats about what they will do or what "a lot of people" will do if certain actions aren't taken. This is especially destructive, because it blatantly tempts church leaders to consider what will please the congregation when they ought to be prayerfully considering what will please the Lord. We dare not tempt our leaders to turn into man pleasers in such situations! But if we will follow these simple rules, we can create an environment that makes it nearly impossible for large-scale conflict to flare up in our churches. 

When you experience conflict with someone at church, there are only three people you should talk to about it.

1. The person you are mad at. 
2. Church leadership (and this should only be after you are unable to make headway by talking directly to the person with whom you have the problem). 
3. And Jesus.

And if you are not one of these three people then don't talk about it! Refuse to discuss it. Refuse to listen to it. Don't allow yourself to be thrown onto someone else's fire. Don't allow yourself to be used as fuel to destroy a church.

Little Sins: Slander and Gossip

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

James 3:5-12

Do you know what the word "devil" means? Most Christians do not. We tend to think of "devil" as the proper name for Satan, but it is not. In fact, neither is Satan. Satan is a Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to refer to the Devil and it means "adversary." The New Testament refers to him by the Greek word "devil" which means "false accuser or slanderer."* Simply put then, the Devil is our adversary who falsely accuses and slanders us (see Job1:1-2:6 & Revelation 12:10).

It is little wonder then that our Heavenly Father is not pleased when His children do the Devil's job for him. When we attack, slander, and falsely accuse one another in the church, He is not pleased. We are commanded to love on another. In fact, we are to be known by our remarkable love for one another. So gossip and slander have no place in the lives of God's children. Why kindle such a raging fire in the church? As the above passage indicates, blessing and cursing should not proceed from the same mouth.

However, I have found that, at times, it can be difficult to determine exactly what constitutes gossip. Some have suggested that we simply not talk about other people at all. However, this leaves us either talking about ourselves all the time or with nothing to talk about. Thankfully, there is a better way. I once heard a sermon from Alistair Begg in which he defined gossip as "the unhelpful repeating of stories about the wrongs and offences of others."** This is a simple enough rule. Don't repeat your brother's lowest moments. Don't attempt to make him look bad. Proverbs 17:9 says, "Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Choose to cover over the offenses of your brother's and sister's in Christ. Forgive! Don't create division by repeating the matter over and over again. As a child of God you should bless and encourage your siblings in the faith, not revile and persecute them. 

For further reading...

• Job1:1-2:6- Check out how the Devil lived up to his name in the book of Job.
• I Corinthians 4:12-13- Follow the apostles' example when responding to slander.
• Revelation 12:10- The devil is the accuser!

*The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

** "Saying No to Slander" preached on October 21, 2007.