
I like that God speaks to me, us, in ways we can understand.
“Be careful not to paint.”
The words were very simple as He spoke them to me, not about my actual love of colors, canvases, and brushes, but words.
I’ll describe what He showed me: it was a figurine of a person made of hard clay set on a potter's circle, carved with beautiful detail but it was being painted all one color by someone I couldn't see, but I knew it was a human being.
I could only see the brush and what they were doing, not their face.
The painting was sloppy and with a brush far too big to do any finely detailed work. This wasn't an attempt at art, it was a complete covering with a color too dark to be a base layer. It was a messy coat of thick, gloopy paint.
The viscosity of the paint was so high, the thickness of it was like a sludge and it covered the detail and intricacies of the modeled figurine were lost underneath it. This wasn’t an attempt at art at all, it was being ruined and I felt bothered watching it.
This was when He was talking to me about gossip.
“Be careful not to paint.”
I’m often surprised by what something is or looks like to God versus what it is to people. The canyon can be so wide.
Gossip is a very accepted part of culture, religious and secular. It’s known as a bad thing among people of faith but is masked in various clever ways.
This morning once again it was our topic of discussion. Well not discussion, I don’t say much of anything, only watch and listen, and I came away from it knowing He did not make anyone for us to paint over with our words.
Words do paint over people. And what He showed me is that they’re the first step in mistreatment and violence of all kinds. There are many kinds of violence: against the soul, heart, and body. There are people who consider themselves gentle who in the spirit, are covered in the blood of others because of their lips.
He cares about this very much.
What Abba showed me is that before anyone is treated badly, they have to be painted. They have to be changed and covered by words spoken in quiet, secret or or even loud places. There is often agreement between at least two to paint someone or a group.
He showed me posters of Jewish people being depicted as less than human before the Holocaust. This very strategic painting had to he done before any blood was spilled because it’s not until someone is changed with words that another person feels comfortable harming or wronging them.
Not one of us would ever touch another human being in a bad way if we saw them through God's eyes. We would be unable. But once they've been painted, all of His work covered and distorted, we then feel free.
“Be careful not to paint.”
It’s not harmless.
He showed me how He was the first one ever painted. In the garden.
“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“He’s a liar” was the paint that when agreed with, covered the truth of the loving, truthful, living God in Eve's mind. God remained the same in reality, but was painted in her heart.
It's a very sad thing.
Painting is a necessary step in the justification process of doing all kinds of wrong.
I asked Him what the difference between discussing a situation and gossiping is and the answer was intent. It's the heart. Sometimes we can fool ourselves and even other people, but He knows.
As a clue, He reminded me how delicious gossip feels. It feels like feasting but it's an illegal meal. It feels like lifting oneself up above another, but is illegal promotion. It's a very wobbly thing to stand on that demands more and more of itself to remain up "high." It's a quick burning meal that requires more and more of itself to feel satisfied.
If you're ever not sure, you can ask. There are sometimes reasons for things to be discussed: for safety, etc.
But one thing He told me, is that if I'm discussing someone and not actively helping someone, that is another clue. There are many clues, but at the end of the day perhaps ask.
Many weeks ago when He first started to talk to me about gossip, He described it as "witchcraft" definitively. I didn't write about it because I thought people would think that was condemning, but yesterday, I saw a man I know to be of God call it just that and knew there was no reason to be afraid to say it.
The essence of witchcraft is the manipulating of the spiritual to achieve results in the physical without God. It's playing God and is not only costly (the spiritual beings many consult with are demons and demons do not work for free) but extremely dangerous (they will always demand payment at some point). Demons would never approach a human being in true form because they know no one would work with them. They're not dumb.
"Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness." 1 Corinthians 11:12-15b
They always pretend to be angels, but no angel of God will engage in side hustles or be willing to be employed under a human. It's why there is a verse that says, "Test every spirit."
Just because something is "spiritual" doesn't mean it is of God. The spirit world is like ours: there are good things and bad. In life, if someone walked up to you on the street and said they had a message from your dead grandfather you would not follow them to their home to hear more. Nor would you accept a gift from them. Many demons, fallen angels, prey on people and take them down in the end because nothing they ever do is for free. You just have not read the terms and conditions. Often it's a right to many areas in your life as they love to wreak havoc, cause disease, and worse.
They find a door into one's life and then set up shop. They use a desire for power, heartbreak, a desire for money...many things. They can shift shape and even look like people you know in dreams. Test every spirit. If it does not come in the name of Jesus, the Lord of Hosts (King of Angels) and what it says deviates from His Word, it's from hell. Unfortunately, I have experience with this. Evil can look very cute or even beautiful but it is a twisted beauty and never lasts.
But I digress.
The reason gossip is witchcraft is because it paints the work of God, another human being in one's mind and the mind of others. It creates a new version of that person. And what you need to know is that there is no form of witchcraft that is free to the user.
Gossip almost always precedes abuse of one form or another. Anyone who works with high schoolers knows this. It wreaks havoc on lives.
If it's a case of being concerned about a person or situation, go to them or pray for them. Be careful not to paint." They don't belong to you, they belong to Him.
If you've done it, you can say sorry to God and then move differently. One time I asked Him if I should say sorry to a person I hadn't gossiped about, but had thought of badly in my heart. He showed me how the apology to them would have served to make me feel better and caused them stress, so I prayed for the person instead and just became a better friend.
I thought I was going to share the verse that talks abut how He's formed each person, but this was the one I was given.
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."
-Psalm 24:1
I suppose the reason for this verse is because He wants us to remember all this stuff and everyone in it belong to Him, so don't go using crazy colors, bad brushes, and unfit paints any which way. He has the best paints, the best, purest heart, and knows how to paint just right.
Jesus isn't just some guy. He's Divine. His heart is...indescribable. Thinking about it humbles me and fills me with such love. When you consider that all things were made through Him, that He had a major part in the creation of the person standing next to you, well you'll lose any desire to start painting.
love, Bunmi
The promises of God begin and end with Yeshua because He is the reconciliation. If you've been walking through life on your own and want to walk with a Shepherd who will never let go of your hand, here's how to start.
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