Truth, honour, love

Ham found his dad, Noah, in a very vulnerable situation - drunk and with no clothes on. He couldn't keep his mouth shut, telling his brothers about the embarrassing situation that Noah was in. And Ham (and his son) suffered because of his big mouth. His brothers Shem and Japheth though, treated their father with respect. They went in to cover him up, looking the other way so as not to see his nakedness. As a result, they were blessed because of their loving deeds (read the story in Genesis 9).

Now, this is not saying we should 'cover up' for people who are making mistakes. Jesus himself spoke about how important it is to keep each other accountable (see Matthew 18:15-17), and how it's a good thing to lovingly confront and sort out issues. Noah's story is teaching us how to deal with the sensitive things that we find out about people. See... Ham found his father, and immediately went to broadcast it, without doing anything to ensure that Noah (even in his sorry, messed up state) was okay. Ham found his father's situation gossip-worthy, and that became his priority - above showing concern, grace and care.

We should centre our responses to others around bringing truth, honour and love into every situation.



So what now? One way to avoid getting into messy gossip is to keep accountable. If you have an accountability partner, go for a coffee with them. If you don't, approach a trustworthy Christian to be one for you.





— SCRIPTURE —

'They looked the other way.' Genesis 9:23 NLT
— SOULFOOD —

1 Sam 27-31, Matt 24:15-25, Ps 102:12-17, Pro 17:7-10