Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
“Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.” – Unknown
Have you ever said something you later regretted? I know I have plenty of times. My word choice and topics of conversation have forced me to apologize many times. And yet I still have missed the mark many more times. There are plenty of times I should have apologized but did not. I am still very much in progress when it comes to gossip. You may be wondering how in the world gossip and Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos go together. I believe we can not only learn from what Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos did but maybe even more importantly from what they did not do.
Priscilla and Aquila were faithful followers of Jesus, friends of Paul, and leaders of the early church, even hosting a House Church. Then there was Apollos. Apollos was a smart man who knew scripture well. He even knew some scripture about Jesus. But Apollos only knew about the work of John the Baptist. Apollos was a great teacher and a great communicator; what he did know, he taught with passion and boldness, but He didn’t know much about Jesus at all. Instead of Priscilla and Aquilla hearing Apollos teach and then talking about him behind his back, they invited him over for dinner. I like to imagine they asked around and found out what his favorite meal was and had it hot and ready when he walked through their front door. Apollos might have said, “Holy Cow! How did you know I loved this? It smells just like if my grandma made it!” Priscilla might have replied, “We had a feeling you might say that, come on in, let’s eat.” During their time together, Priscilla and Aquila spent time listening to and talking with Apollos. They corrected him lovingly and taught him about Jesus. Notice what they didn’t do. They didn’t spend time talking about Apollos and tearing him or the early church apart. See, gossip weakens our relationships and makes the bride of Christ ugly to the world. Jesus said the world would know we are His followers by the way we love each other. Let’s learn from Priscilla and Aquilla and change the way we think and speak about and to each other.
When you find yourself talking about someone negatively who’s not in the room, hit pause on the conversation and begin the hard work. Apologize to the people you were talking to for involving them in gossip. Then invite the person you were talking about over for dinner. Try to find out what they like to eat. Share a meal, apologize for talking about them negatively, ask for their forgiveness, then enjoy each other’s company, and bring out dessert. This is something that will be slow and messy, but imagine the impact it could have on the relationships you have, the impact it could have on people who aren’t followers of Jesus, and the impact it could have on your family. This is hard work, and it could change generations forever.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.