by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give
account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified,
and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
We seem to think our words simply fall to the ground and die, or vanish into
thin air and dissolve into nothingness. Not so! Our words live on—they do not
die!
You may say, “But I only told this gossip to one friend and he promised never
to repeat it. It will end with him.” No, it will not! Every single word you
and I utter is recorded, written down in eternity, and we will hear them all
repeated to us at the judgment.
I recall coming under deep conviction after sharing a vicious bit of gossip
with a friend. What I said was indeed true. It was about a moral situation I
had had to deal with concerning a minister. His name came up in the
conversation and I said, “Don’t trust him. I know something about him!”
Even as I mouthed off, I felt condemned. The Holy Spirit whispered to me,
“Stop right there! Nobody needs to know that. Don’t say more, because
there’s no purpose to it. Even though it’s true, don’t repeat it!”
What I had already said was bad enough. But then I blurted out the lurid
details! I knew I should have been quiet and sure enough, I was deeply
convicted by the Holy Spirit. So later I called my friend and said, “I’m
sorry, that was gossip. I was out of order. Please don’t repeat it. Try not
to even think about it.”
Is my sin covered by the blood of Jesus? Yes, because I fully acknowledged that
I had sinned and I allowed the Holy Spirit to show me some of the legalistic
pride left in me. I allowed Him to humble me and heal me! Now, whenever I begin
to say something against somebody, I obey the Holy Spirit as I hear Him say,
loud and clear, “Stop!”