Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When a man shall have a swelling in his body’s skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. The priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body. If the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body’s skin, it is the plague of leprosy; so the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean.”
(Leviticus 13:1-3)

“On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in my weaknesses. For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me or hears from me“
(2 Corinthians 12:5-6)

It was understood by the sages that the skin disease referred to in Leviticus 13 (tzara’at) was spiritual in origin. Although it shares symptoms with what we know today as Hansen’s Disease (a disease which is a highly contagious, bacterial infection), it has some differences. It was to be examined by a priest (not a physician). The infected were to be separated out of the camp so that they could not infect others with their thinking. It was a physical reaction to a spiritual condition: gossip or slander. When you gossiped or slandered another person, you opened the door to physical and spiritual oppression or illness. It was NOT unknown (Numbers 12:10). They were separated so that their negative thinking wouldn’t spread like a cancer and turn the people of the Lord into a collection of strife sowers.

Paul was also accused of speaking untruth. Of putting himself forward for his own gains. In his letters he proves that the hardships he endured FAR outweighed any benefit that he could have experienced. More than that, when he had an experience that he COULD have bragged about, he did NOT. He was so influential and so good at spreading the gospel that the devil sent a messenger to afflict him. To keep him attacked. To keep him from being in a position for more people to look to his words and message. He begged to be released from the torment, but God ALREADY provided everything Paul needed. When we cannot accomplish something, it is often that God ALREADY did it. It doesn’t take OUR efforts, only our ACCEPTANCE of His. Paul didn’t fight with reputation. He didn’t show off. He didn’t aggrandize himself. He let the message speak for itself and rested in Jesus, letting Jesus take centre stage.

Summary

The purpose of gossip and slander is to tear others down in a way that puts us forward. This is not servant hood. This is not a humble attitude. Sometimes we think others are getting one over on us or out to get us. Maybe they are. But if we rest in Jesus and His finished work, nothing they do or say can touch us. If we insist on defending ourselves, God can’t. If we let Him defend us, we don’t need to (Romans 16:20). We are to operate with and from love. Letting Jesus do what He does and accept into our lives what He has already accomplished. When Jesus is on the case, we need nothing else: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).