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Messianic Jewish Resource:

http://www.torahresource.com/English%20Articles/Leshon%20Hara.pdf

Lashon Hara -- Nothing destroys a community faster than gossip. What
does the Almighty think about "evil speech" (Lashon hara)? This short
paper gives a brief inquiry into the biblical injuctions against gossip.
2 pages

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Hebrew-Roots Christian Resource:

http://yadbyad.messengers-of-messiah.org/LaShonHara/lashon.htm

LaShon or Lash-On?

As is the case with most people, the things that we address in our
articles are those very same things that have been ***bersome to us in
our daily lives. Thus, I would like to address the topic of speaking
evil of one another. What is the difference between "evil speaking" and
speaking forth the truth? How does speaking emet [truth] become
something evil?

There are many regulations to follow with regards to LaShon Hara, if we
were following the teachings of Judaism, and a lot of them are NOT all
bad, I might add! The full meaning of LaShon Hara is something that many
Believers would profit from, and it would certainly alleviate the
slaughter of their brothers and sisters, by the evil speech that
proceeds from their mouths.

Let¹s delve into God¹s Word, and find out what He has to say about the
phrase lashon hara, shall we?
Psalms 34:13 Keep thy tongue <03956> from evil <07451>, and thy lips
from speaking guile.

According to Strong¹s definition, the tongue in this Scripture is
defined as:

03956 lashown {law-shone'} or lashon {law-shone'} also (in plural)
feminine l@shonah {lesh-o-naw'}

The evil in this passage of Scripture is defined as:

07451 ra` {rah}

Thus, we have the phrase lashon hara [evil speaking]. Contrary to
popular belief, lashon hara is NOT always a lie, or an untruth that is
being uttered. In some instances, the exact truth can be spoken, and
still be considered to be lashon hara. How, you ask? Let me give you an
example that I encountered just recently, while on the job.

Quite some time ago, my boss had written a check for $1500 to Stroh¹s
Brewing Company. On a post-it note attached to the check copy, there was
an instruction to give it to another employee, who is well known for
having a drinking problem. As I was reviewing this file, I made light of
the situation, and remarked that it must have been "some kind of party"
that was thrown by the company, because it cost $1500. Then, as a side
comment, I said that the check was certainly given to the person who
would KNOW how to use it!!

The truth of this matter is that my boss had written the check for $1500
to the Stroh¹s Brewing Company, as payment for some used equipment that
he was purchasing from them. He had also instructed the other employee
to deliver the check, and pick up the used equipment.

As a model of lashon hara, can you see from the above how simple it
would have been for me to have gone out of the office and reiterated to
everyone that my boss wrote a check to Stroh¹s Brewing Company for
$1500, and handed it over to the one person in the office who is KNOWN
to have a drinking problem? Had I said that, it would have given the
hearers the liberty to assume their own thoughts about the situation.
Would the statement I made be true? Of course it would have been! I
could have justified myself by maintaining the truthfulness of what I
had said. Would I have committed lashon hara by making such a statement?
Absolutely!! Why? Because I KNEW that what I was saying would formulate
an incorrect picture of the truth of the situation, but I spoke it forth
regardless. This is the full impact of lashon hara! I spoke the truth,
albeit while painting a tainted picture. God finds no pleasure in this
sort of tactic.

As you can see from the below definitions, evil [Strong¹s #07451] takes
on many nuances, when used all 663 times in Scripture:

evil 442, wickedness 59, wicked 25, mischief 21, hurt 20, bad 13,
trouble 10, sore 9, affliction 6, ill 5, adversity 4, favoured 3, harm
3, naught 3, noisome 2, grievous 2, sad 2, misc 34; 663

If something we say about another brings about ANY of these end results
expressed above, then it is nothing less than EVIL, and we need to
repent, and ask f****veness from God. Along with repentance and
f****veness, we need to do all that is humanly possible to correct the
situation that we have promoted by evil speaking [lashon hara]. If we
must humble ourselves and go to a brother or sister, then, so be it. If
we need to correct statements that we¹ve made to other members of the
Body of Messiah, then by all means, let¹s do it quickly, before it
becomes a festering abscess within The Body.

If you have a good concordance, please take the time to look up the
meaning of the adjective/adverb evil. You will notice that it takes on
many characteristics and expressions, with some of the following ones
being just a slight illustration of the full meaning:

disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness,
misery), displeasing, bad (of value), worse than, worst (comparison),
sad, unhappy, evil (hurtful), unkind (vicious in disposition), wicked
(ethically)

As a noun, the following are some of the descriptive words that are
attributed to the word evil:

deeds, actions, evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity, injury, wrong,
evil (ethical)

Speaking true words with an ill design is always the earmark of lashon
hara.

Let¹s turn to the Brit Chadasha [New Covenant] to see what Sha¹ul [Paul]
has to say about this very same topic:

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour ,
and evil speaking <988>, be put away from you, with all malice <2549>:
[Emphasis added]

You will notice that we now have entered into a new understanding of
evil speaking, and that is described appropriately as blasphemy:

988 blasphemia {blas-fay-me'-ah}

AV - blasphemy 16, railing 2, evil speaking 1; 19
1) slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another's good name
2) impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty

We need to take notice that the full meaning of this word blasphemy, is
attributable to humans AND to God! Yes, we can blaspheme our brothers
and sisters, in addition to blaspheming God. This realization SHOULD put
the fear of the Lord deep within our heart. If there is any doubt
whatsoever exactly what God has to say about blasphemy, please do
yourself a favor, and do an in-depth study of this word.

"Anything which, were it to be publicized, could cause your
brother/sister monetary or physical damage or could frighten him or
cause him mental anguish, is Lashon Hara." (Maimonides) To quantify
Maimonides, I would like to add that if the heart intent in speaking
this forth is evil, or derogatory, then it is surely lashon hara.
Exposinging false doctrine is NOT lashon hara, unless one speaks evil of
the "personality" of the one teaching the false doctrine, rather than
addressing the doctrine itself.

In the midst of all of this, please remember that at Mt. Sinai, the
Decalogue was given for our benefit. The first four commandments are
concerning man¹s duty toward God, and the last six commandments are with
regards to man¹s duty to his fellow man. Personally, I don¹t think God
erred when He tipped the scale in the direction of instructions to
mankind! As a matter of fact, Yeshua [Jesus] delineated this even
further in Matthew 22:37-39, when He commanded us to love God, AND to
love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Isn¹t it wonderful how
our Messiah can take ten commands from God, and get to the crux of the
matter, by articulating all ten of them completely, within these two?

I purposely retained the Strong¹s number for the definition of malice in
the Ephesians 4:31 Scripture reference, as I want to note that the heart
intent is what creates a foul odor in God¹s nostrils, when it comes to
the destruction that is promoted by lashon hara:

1) malignity, malice, ill-will, desire to injure
2) wickedness, depravity
2a) wickedness that is not ashamed to break laws
3) evil, trouble


As you can see, these definitions that I¹ve italicized are all in
reference to other human beings; they are NOT aimed toward God!

Sometimes sinful words spoken by the saints, one against another;
signifies the first affront taken in the mind, against any person, and
for any account. This should be expelled at once, and not encouraged, so
that it doesn¹t explode into lashon hara. Within the Body of Messiah,
this would more commonly be known as "implosion" * meaning it will cause
an explosion from within, resulting in destruction or damage to the
whole structure.

Lashon hara arises from an embittered, wrathful, and angry disposition,
which is very unbecoming to the person who has been born from on high,
and I can assure you that God finds no pleasure in such behavior from
His children. This is the type of behavior that is known, seen, and even
expected, from the unregenerate person.
Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Be assured, Saints, that God is NOT saying He will remove these from you
.. . .oh no! God is precisely saying that WE MUST PUT OFF all of these
unclean characteristics!! Ouch!! It seems fitting to me that now would
be a favorable time for the Body of Messiah to take to heart this
particular Scripture, and begin to let Ruach HaKodesh [The Holy Spirit]
teach us what God is saying within this passage. For too long, we have
been too smug in thinking that this Colossians reference means something
very perfunctory, with which even a good "moral" UNbeliever can comply.
I don¹t think that¹s specifically what God had in mind, when he inspired
these words. It is time that we point the unruly rudder in the correct
direction. This does NOT mean that we cannot speak for truth, it simply
implies that we must have the Godly intent, and attitude, in our heart
while we are speaking. We must take great care to be sure there is no
evil intent, nor any destructive words spoken toward a "personality" as
opposed to correcting wrong doctrine. God will deal with the
personality, if we will simply retain our heart attitude to correct
wrong doctrine, according to His written Word. We do not have the right
to broadcast our opinions far and wide, when it comes to conflicts we
may have with one of our brothers or sisters. That is an issue that we
should be talking to God about, while we are on our knees in prayer for
that particular person. I have no claim, nor any control, over my
brothers and sisters personal life. We should always maintain the
integrity of God¹s Word, within our own life, and within the life of
those we are co-laborers with, for the sake of the gospel.

Anger is a disposition which prompts one to inflict pain or injury.
Imposing pain or injury is the foremost objective of lashon hara,
whether it is intentional, or unintentional. I would encourage all of us
to be angry, and sin not. (Compare Psalms 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26) A
person may be said to be angry and not sin, when their anger arises from
a true zeal for God and His Word; when it is ablaze not against persons,
but sins. There is an anger which is sinful; as when it is without a
cause; when it exceeds the line of demarcation; when it is not directed
to a good end; when it is productive of bad effects, either in words or
actions. Lashon hara is the full manifestation of anger, in all of its
ungodly display.

The real heart of lashon hara is not only to say the right thing at the
right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment.

Saints, be encouraged today.


Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Preserve yourselves by the love of God, by remaining in that intimate
contact with the love of God, and He will shelter you under the shadow
of His wings, in the cleft of His Rock. His chesed [mercy] is from
everlasting to everlasting. Won¹t you avail yourself of the opportunity
today, to show forth His mercy toward another human, who may have never
seen the mercy of God in action? Be the living epistle in their life.

Psalms 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me,
and be merciful unto me.

Humbly submitted for the building up of the Saints, by Anna L. Robinson
© Yad b¹Yad Ministries
Questions or comments on this article? Contact the author.