Killing The Assassin Within You...

One of my favorite movie hero’s is James Bond (Agent 007)… He’s always cool, has some of the most awesome spy gadgets and sports cars, and the list just goes on…

No matter where around the globe his assignments take him there is always an assassin lurking in some dark foreign alley seeking to take him out; some are double agents; men or women who pretend to be on his team but actually work for the enemy.

The assassin is an individual who commits murder for either personal or fanatical motives. They infiltrate every station in life the world over. Assassins operate in political and corporate arenas, work for organized crime factions, and oh yes; in the “Body of Christ”…

They operate from just about every position in the church, from the deacon board to the usher board… from the trustee board to the mother’s board… from the choir loft, to the finance committee… from the pulpit to the pew.

“Church Assassins” are cunning, crafty, and skilled enough to gain the trust and confidence of their victims. In their profession no target is off-limits.

I know what you’re thinking; “how does one become a church assassin?” The answer is very simple: “The tongue can bring life and death; those who love to talk will reap consequences”. Proverbs 18:21 (NLT)

The weapon of choice for the church assassin is the tongue. It shoots lethal backbiting, gossip, and false witness. This is what scripture has to say about the assassin and the tongue:

“…the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; it is set on fire of hell… but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing…”

James 3:5-10

Now brace yourself: the church assassins are you and I…

Each time that we speak ill of anyone, we assassinate their character, destroy their hopes & dreams, and in many cases kill their spirit. But wait, there’s more… the church assassin is also suicidal, because when we kill the character of another, we also kill our testimony as believers and any chance of winning those around us to Christ.

Seeing that it is impossible to both praise God in the beauty of holiness and curse our fellowman using the same tongue; then we must be willing to kill the assassin within. This is done first by:

1.       Changing the way we think – The Apostle Paul admonishes every believer to fix our thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. To think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)… By altering your thought process to what is good and honorable in the sight of God, you will always have a healthy and positive view of your fellowman.

2.      Practice telling the truth – Paul also encourages us to put on our new nature (as believers) whereby we were created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. Stop telling lies, but speak truthfully to one another seeing that we all belong to the “Body of Christ”… (Ephesians 4:24-26)

3.      Stay in the word- Keep the word of Christ alive within you, be wise when teaching and admonishing one another… (Colossians 3:16)

4.      Obey God – Stay humble by submitting yourself to God, and ignoring the enticement from Satan to do evil… (James 4:7)

Don’t be a double agent, but be single-minded in Christ and kill the assassin within you.