Christian Cannibals & Buzzards

Written by Connie Giordano

Are you a Christian Cannibal? Do you have a voracious appetite for people's reputations? Is one of your favorite dishes the character of your brother or sister in Christ? Or maybe you are what can be termed as a Christian Buzzard. You, like the buzzard, are always looking for something rotten. You are deadset on finding something rotten to say about your brethren. Writes Henry van Dyke: "Cannibalism is dying out among barbarous tribes, but it still survives among the most highly civilized peoples... . If you wish to serve up somebody's character at a social entertainment or pick the bones of somebody's reputation in a quiet corner, you'll find ready guests and almost incredible appetites." And we might add that among those guests you may find even Christians. What does a buzzard find as it circles the countryside? A squirrel that has been run over on the highway or a dead rabbit under a bush. The land may be green with dew and pleasant with the song of birds. But the buzzard misses all these things because it is looking for something rotten. Some buzzards are human. They are always looking for something rotten to talk about - in the name of truth, mind you! James 4:11 - The Apostle James admonished us in his Epistle to - "Speak not evil one of another, brethren." Actually, what he was saying was - Don't slander and backbite your brethren. Don't speak evil about them. Don't incriminate them - falsely charge them with a fault. Don't traduce them - expose them to shame and blame by falsely misrepresenting them, their motives, or their actions. Don't talk against their manner of living or their families. Don't report evil things of them unless called to do so by God in order to expose error or spare the innocent of danger or tragedy. Don't report evil things of them with whom you have a problem because of a personality quirk or because they had the boldness to tell you the truth about yourself. Don't speak anything that may hurt or injure another. In most cases, the one who speaks evil of his brethren is the one who generally has an exalted opinion of himself and a low estimation of others. He is haughty and proud. He doesn't demonstrate clear thinking in his reasonings of others. He doesn't exercise good judgment. He is empty-headed. What then is the root of all depreciation of other brethren? Selfishness! For further understanding, read the following excerpts from Spiros Zodhiates' Commentary on this particular Scripture from the Epistle of James - "...Too much selfishness can make even the wise man foolish when it comes to talking about others. When the Athenians, after a victorious battle against Xerxes, the Persian King who invaded Greece, came to the Isthmus, every officer took a bullet from the altar to inscribe upon it the names of those who had done the best service. Everyone put himself in the first place and Themistocles, the chief of the Athenians, in the second... Selfishness is at the root of depreciating others, and there is much of that among Christians. Many of us think we are the best Christians in the world. Our minds and wills have become so permeated with self that, when we speak about others, criticism and devaluation become automatic. We do not stop to think of the extenuating circumstances in our brother's life. We are like the pompous-looking deacon who was endeavoring to impress upon the young minds of a class of boys the importance of living a Christian life. 'Why do people call me a Christian, children?' the worthy dignitary asked, standing very erect and smiling down upon them. A moment's pause; then a shrill little voice was heard to say, 'Because they don't know you.' There is a lot of difference between what we think of ourselves and what God and others think of us. If we stopped to listen to God's and others' opinions of us, it would have a sobering effect upon us, and we would surely be less critical of others. Then we would not be like Rabbi Simeon who said, 'The world is not worth thirty righteous persons such as our father Abraham. If there were only thirty righteous persons in the world, I and my son should make two of them; and if there were only twenty, I and my son should be of the number; and if there were only ten, I and my son should be of them; and if there were only five, I and my son should be of the five; and if there were but two, I and my son would be those two; and if there were but one, myself should be that one.' Pride of self results in criticism of others..." In closing, read the final comments on this verse from Zodhiates' Commentary - "One of the greatest weaknesses of Christians is to condemn the whole personality just for one small action that we happen to disapprove of. In our Christian churches we are experts at generalization. All we need is to hear a brother say an unnecessary word to brand him as foolish. We see a mother lose her temper once and we call her the most bad-tempered woman on earth. A friend fails to greet us just once and we classify him as unfriendly. We enter a restaurant and happen to see a preacher who is faithful to the Word of God eating with a liberal, and we immediately conclude that the man of God is a liberal, too, and that is the kind of company he habitually keeps, without stopping to think that his effort may have been to win a soul to Christ..." Some questions to honestly ask yourself are - Are you a Christian Cannibal? Are you a Christian Buzzard? When will you stop devouring your brethren's character and reputation before others? Do you suppose that it's time for a change in appetites - a change from desiring something rotten to desiring that which is edifying and uplifting to say about the brethren? A final thought - Are you a doer of God's command to "Speak not evil one of another, brethren" or are you a transgressor? May God Bless His Word. Connie Giordano P. O. Box 383016 Duncanville, TX. 75138-3016 http://www.walkingintruth.org Copyright 2003 by Connie Giordano - - Return to Top of this Page - Email a Link to this Page - Go To Next Article - Back To Articles Page - Listing of All Articles - - Download This Article This Page's Title Is: Your Name Is: Your Email Address Is: Your State and Country: Please identify your vocation: Senior Pastor. Associate Pastor. Youth Pastor. Lay Minister. Church Member. Which section of this site would you most likely return to? Sermons Articles Stories Poems Hymns Articles for Leaders Marriage Articles A Bit of Humor Would you like to receive the free weekly E-mail Circular? YES If you have a web page, would you like to establish a reciprocal link? YES Feel free to add a comment or prayer request: