Listen to the devotional here:

“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.” (James 4:11)

Have you ever felt upset with someone and wanted to talk badly about them? God doesn’t want us to do that.

Today’s devotion teaches us not to speak evil about one another.

What does it mean to speak evil of others?

Speaking evil about others can look like saying false things about them to ruin their reputation. It can also be saying true things about them, but saying it unkindly to hurt or harm them.

When we judge others in areas that only God can judge, we also speak evil of them. One example could be saying something like, “Oh, they’re just trying to show off,” when we see others helping out in church. After all, only God knows what’s really in someone’s heart.

Reasons why we speak evil of others

So, why do people talk badly about others? Here are three reasons.

First, people may want to make themselves feel more important than others.

Second, people may feel frustrated that others have done something wrong, and so they want to vent their feelings. Yet, doing this is often unhelpful and does not help the other person grow.

Third, people may be using their values, rather than God’s word, to judge others. The Pharisees did this when Jesus did not follow their traditions. And so they accused Him of sinning, even though He had not broken God’s commandments.

What should we do instead?

God tells us in His law that He wants us to love one another (James 2:8). The goal is always to help others do the right thing, not to hurt or embarrass them. Because we are servants of God, we should help others gently, without quarrelling (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

When others offend us, instead of saying mean things about them, Jesus wants us to make peace with them and patiently help them do the right thing. He even teaches us to pray for those who hurt us (Matthew 5:44)! If they have listened to us and turned back, then we shouldn’t involve others (Matthew 18:17).

When we feel like judging others or talking badly about them, let’s pray and ask God to help us be kind and forgiving instead.

Family Altar

Use these discussion questions and our prayer as a guide for your family altar.

Parents can lead the prayer and invite their children to repeat after them or encourage their children to take the lead, making family altar time a shared journey of faith.

Discussion questions:

• How does it feel to talk badly about others? Are there other reasons why people might do so?

• When others around me gossip, what can I do instead of joining in?

Prayer in words:

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Jesus, today we learnt about how You want us to control our lips and not speak evil about others. It can be difficult to be kind with our words. But Lord, You created our mouths. Give us self-control so that we will speak gentle and loving words, even to those who have hurt us. Give us patience so we can help those who have hurt us. We love You, Jesus. Amen.

^{Adapted from “God Resists the Proud”, a sermon by Dn Joshua Chong. True Jesus Church.}