Where do you draw the line with Ulamas and JAIS ?
Ulamas and JAIS should Crucify Utusan Soi Lei forUlamas and JAIS are willing to be used as political tools by UMNO at a detrimental to Islam.are willing to be used as political tools by UMNO at a detrimental to Islam.Religion is a State matter.Selangor is under PR.Why not haul Jais up and ask them for a statement.Remand the Marzuki for a couple of days.Show him the file on Hassan Ali,
Jais is always quick to comment and threaten when it comes nothing better to do except to harass opposition members, who speak the truth but look stupid and turn away when umno/bn do it. why no comment when Chua the pornstar ridiculed Islam? Jais you are a munafik organ of for UMNO gov’t
Police , judiciary ,ROS, bank negara and Jais have become tools of harassment for UMNO Government. When will all this ‘big brother’ repression end?
Utusan its remark in twisting Nurul Izzah statement Ulamas and JAIS are willing to be used as political tools by UMNO at a detrimental to Islam.If Jais really want to discharge their duty, then I am sure they know where to go first but they chose to be someone orderly instead and make mockery out of Islam. Comparing what soi lek did by insulting Islam to the maximum and Nurul Izzah statement I am sure it is obvious which is more serious but nobody dares to haul soi lek. Even the devil mouthpiece utusex was defending the pornstar.
The attack on Nurul Izzah is symptomatic of an UMNO signature. First they get the press to twist her statement and blow up and sensationalize the issue. Then a few UMNO leaders will spin the issue further. Then they get an Ulama to critic the spun issue with blatant disregard for the true statement. This will lend false credence to the spun issue. Then authorities like JAIS and others will quickly want to do an investigation to drag the issue for maximum damaged to Nurul. It has been proven many times that Ulamas and JAIS are willing to be used as political tools by UMNO at a detrimental to Islam.
Small lies are not as innocuous as they may seem; they have the huge potential to undermine your credibility and relationships
“Hey come on, I didn’t really lie! Just a small holding back of facts about such an innocuous matter. I just wanted to avoid a discussion…that’s hardly a lie!”
And yet you feel betrayed, hurt and upset… Sounds familiar?
“Are you crazy? I am NOT having an affair…we just exchanged a few flirtatious messages…how can that be wrong!”
And yet you feel wronged, betrayed and hurt…
For it is these little lies and betrayals that make a big difference to one’s credibility and to the quality of a relationship, whether personal or professional. The bigger lies that have the potential of blowing up in the face could remain unknown and hidden forever, thus not really causing any harm. The smaller lies that you unthinkingly and carelessly blurt out, not just get caught all the time, but also lay the foundation of how dependable or trustworthy a person or relationship is!
It was Adolf Hitler who coined the expression “Big Lie”, distinguishing it from the small lies. He used the Big Lie as a propaganda technique. As he said inMein Kampf, “… in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods…”
This is the principle adopted today by marketing agencies and propaganda machines when they furnish us with Big Lies on a regular basis with the help of mass media. However, the big lie is not something most of us would be familiar with in our daily lives. Sure, all of us would have indulged in some falsehood or the other sometime in life, but these are the small, everyday lies that either help us through a situation, or may have become a chronic habit!
Some people tell a small lie to avoid confrontation; others do so to avoid hurting someone, or so as not to rock the boat in a relationship. Some may lie to live up to fantasies they have about themselves, such as the size of their bungalow, the make of their car or the wealth they own. Still other chronic liars may have entrapped themselves so much into small lies that their entire life may have become a Big Lie that they have to willynilly live up to now! One wonders how these people feel about themselves. For instance, we have cases of people who have wrongly claimed to be POWs of World War II and spent a lifetime claiming compensation for the same and being finally caught out! Surely what must have started off as a small lie one day for such a person, and took over his entire life slowly, must have throttled him in private? Surely somewhere his conscience would have felt some relief when he was caught and finally could stop lying? A lie is a lie; there are no big or small ones. Similarly, a betrayal is a betrayal; it doesn’t have varying degrees of acceptability!
Likewise, a theft doesn’t gain any more acceptability if the amount stolen is less. The point is that if you have been able to convince yourself to indulge in what you consider a smaller evil, the bigger one follows in good time. Lying, stealing, cheating is first an act of betrayal to you yourself, then to anyone else. You are the one who draws the lines and defines the limits for yourself and for your relationship. Certainly how true you are to yourself and to your loved one decides the quality and strength of your relationship. At a workshop conducted by Shobhaa De, when she asked a group of women to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ to the amazement of all one woman stood up and proclaimed, “I am a thief, a cheat and a liar!” Shobhaa goes on to quote the woman, “I cheat on my husband by feigning interest in his conversation at the end of a long day, when all I want to do is put my feet up and relax. I lie to my bosses and pretend to be sick when I want to spend time with my baby daughter. And I call myself a thief for stealing time which does not belong to me to pursue my personal interests during work hours.” The woman is a rare example of transparent honesty, such as most of us would hesitate to admit even to our ownselves! But it is true, isn’t it? At some level, we are all dishonest. Now call this a small dishonesty, or a big one — it is all about how you want to make yourself feel! We all have ways of making ourselves feel good. So, yes of course, these are all small lies.
But, are they really? Why then do you need to tell yourself yet another lie in order to feel better?
THE DEADLY SIN OF SLANDER WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD THAT IS FILLED WITH ALL KINDS OF SINFUL QUALITIES, SOME MORE NOTICEABLE OTHERS. BUT THERE IS ONE PARTICULAR SIN THAT GOES UNNOTICED AND CAUSES A GREAT AMOUNT OF DAMAGE …..IT’S THE SIN OF SLANDER, DEFAMING, INSULT OR DISPARAGEMENT. WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY DEFINED SLANDER AS “A FALSE TALE OR REPORT MALICIOUSLY UTTERED, AND TENDING TO INJURE THE REPUTATION OF ANOTHER BY LESSENING HIM IN THE ESTEEM OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS, BY IMPOSING HIM TO IMPEACHMENT AND PUNISHMENT, OR BY IMPAIRING HIS MEANS OF LIVING. SEE SLANDER STRIKES PEOPLES DIGNITY, DEFAMES THERE CHARACTER, AND DESTROYS THEIR REPUTATION….A PERSON’S MOST PRICELESS WORLDLY ASSET. AS PROV 22:1 SAYS “A GOOD NAME IS TO BE CHOSEN RATHER THAN GREAT RICHES, AND FAVOR IS BETTER THAN SILVER OR GOLD.” A PERSON’S DIGNITY IS WORTH MORE THAN GOLD OR SILVER…….AND SLANDER ALWAYS HAS A WAY OF CRUSHING THAT DIGNITY THROUGH MEANS OF WORDS. THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY PEOPLE LOVE TO SLANDER OTHERS. PERHAPS IT IS BECAUSE THEY GOT THEIR FEELINGS HURT AND ARE UPSET WITH THAT PERSON. ANOTHER REASON IS ENVY. SOME PEOPLE SLANDER OTHERS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE CARNALLY-MINDED AND DON’T LIKE THAT PERSON. SOMETIMES IT’S BECAUSE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH CAUSES ONE TO VIEW SOMEONE ELSE AS BEING A WORSE SINNER THAN THEM SELF. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NUMEROUS REASONS FOR WHICH A PERSON SLANDERS HIS NEIGHBOR, THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT ONLY A FOOL DOES SO. AS PROVERB 10:18 SAYS “THE ONE WHO CONCEALS HATRED HAS LYING LIPS, AND WHOEVER UTTERS SLANDER IS A FOOL.”
THE BIBLE HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT SLANDER, FOR EXAMPLE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT! It’s never the character of a godly person. Ps 15:2-3 “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;”. It’s always the character of the wicked. Ps 50:19-20 “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.”. It is also one of the Ten Commandments.Exo 20:16 ”You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WE SEE THE SAME EXAMPLES…..It’s the source of an evil heart Mat 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”. It’s so bad it defiles or pollutes a person. Matt 15:20 the verse that follows says “These are what defile a person.”. Every careless [slanderous] word will be brought into judgement. Matt 12:36 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,…”
- Slander has devastating effects and it very harmful to the soul.
- Slander has the capability to destroy friendships, marriages.
- Slander has the capability to afflict deep wounds that takes months to years to heal.
- Slander has the capability to destroy people….spiritually and physically.
THERE IS A STORY YOU’VE HEARD ME TELL BEFORE! BUT I THINK IT’S WORTH REPEATING, BECAUSE IT’S A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHAT JAMES IS TRYING TO TELL US THIS MORNING. There was a happy little family, living in a small town in North Dakota, even though the young mother had not been entirely well since the birth of her second baby. But each evening the neighbors were aware of warmth in their hearts when they would see the husband and father being met at the gate by his wife and two small children. There was laughter in the evening too, and when the weather was nice father and children would romp together on the back lawn while mother looked on with happy smiles.
Then one day a village gossip started a story, saying that (the father) was being unfaithful to his wife, a story entirely without foundation. But it eventually came to the ears of the young wife, and it was more than she could bear. Reasons lefts its throne, and that night when her husband came home there was no one to meet him at the gate, no laughter in the house, no fragrant aroma coming from the kitchen, only coldness and something that chilled his heart with fear. And down in the basement he found the three of them hanging from a beam. Sick and in despair, the young mother had taken the lives of her two children, and her own. In the days that followed, the truth of what had happened came out, a gossip’s tongue, an untrue story, a terrible tragedy.
How destructive are defaming remarks? How serious are slanderous remarks? The outcome is devastating….. To too many people! Slander only takes a tongue and an angry heart to make things turn terrible for someone. That’s why it’s destructive and it can happen in seconds…….the silent assassin that comes in under the radar to destroy whatever is in its path. Remember what James earlier in his letter “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” James 3:6. What is James is saying? Those who misuse the tongue are guilty of spiritual arson; a mere spark from an ill-spoken word can produce a firestorm that annihilates everything it touches. A slanderous tongue corrupts the whole person. It doesn’t take long for a fire to get momentum when we are motivated by rage, bitterness or resentment towards to the opposing party. James is very clear in this passage that we have no right to confront another believer if our mouth is filled with a slanderous heart! Again understanding the underlining theme to this letter is to present tests of a living, genuine, saving faith.
LOOK AT WHAT HE SAYS IN (v11) “Do not speak against one another” This is serious business! A person whose life is characterized by habitual slander and condemnation of others betrays an evil, unloving, unregenerate heart. As John MacArthur describes it as “their mouth become tunnels through which depravity exits their heart.This passage means: Lying with malicious intent to hurt someone. This is damaging for the church…….this can kill a church. This is damaging for your marriage…..it can bring about divorce papers. This is damaging for your children…..they could leave and never come back. This is damaging in every aspect of your Christian life. Listen to what John wrote in his epistle, in 1 John 2:9-12 he says “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”
“Judge” in this passage does not referring to evaluation, but to condemnation or blame. James warning complements or reflects what our Lord Jesus said in Mathew’s gospel.
Matt 7:1-5 ”Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Slander is a serious violation of the Law and if you judge above the Law as James is saying here! What you’re doing is making yourself superior over God and that’s a big no, no! This ultimately means we are submitting to our own authority over God. Your self-righteousness super exceeds the authority given over your own life…..meaning the bible. By such fearful disrespect the sinner, judges the law as unworthy of his or hers……
- Attention
- Affection
- Obedience
- Submission
If you place yourself above God’s Law, this means you are not bound by the Law’ because you are above the Law. Look what James writes about that in the next verse (v12) “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” Basically what James is saying in today’s language! “Who do you think you are sitting in condemnation on someone else?”
- Do not think we are above the Law
- Do not judge with malice intent
- Do not judge with self- righteous intent
We are not the final authority………..the Lord of all creation is! Remember! God gave His law to regulate people’s love for Him and our fellow human beings! The Great Commandments these are non- negotiable to the Christian Faith in Jesus Christ. Matt 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Look at the language James uses in this verse! “He who is able to save and to destroy” (v12b) The One [the Lord Jesus Christ] who is able to destroy…….This refers to eternal destruction in Hell! Jesus said in Matt 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Paul puts it this way in 2Thess 1:8-10 “ in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.” The sin of slander is no small matter it is: Insolent, reckless, treason, deadly against a Sovereign Lawgiver and Judge of this universe.
But remember! The One person that can destroy is also the same One that can save our soul. Save you from eternal damnation……save you from a place we all deserve [Hell]….. all He asks of you and me is to put our trust in Christ Jesus alone through repentance and faith. The One who bore my shame…….the One who was judged in my place by the Father. We are brothers and sisters of the Living God…….We need to stop destroying one another with malicious and slanderous behavior. Flee the evil of this present age and show Christian love by speaking truth with a pure heart and directing people who are in sin to the Savior and leave the rest with Him. As Peter put it “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” 1 Peter 1:22. Listen to late great Richard Baxter “We must feel toward our people as a father toward his children; yea, the most- tender love of a mother must not surpass ours. We must even toil in birth, till Christ be formed in them. They should see that we care for no outward thing, neither liberty, nor honor, nor life, in comparison to their salvation… When the people see that you truly love them, they will hear anything from you… Oh therefore, see that you feel a tender love for your people in your hearts, and let them perceive it in your speech and conduct. Let them see that you spend and are spent for their sakes.” That’s a heart that cannot, and will not, slander another! That’s what true Christian Brothers and sisters are to strive for! What does your heart tell you this morning about the way you speaking about others today?
No comments:
Post a Comment