October 9

Handling Trash Talk

Trash talk is the art of using your words to demoralize, humiliate and defeat your opponent. It is used widely in sports today. Here are a few all-star lines:

"Trust me: The pain'll go away one day."
"If they keep you on me, I'll be in the Hall of Fame by Monday morning."
"Next time, maybe you can hit me with your purse."
"What does the bottom of my shoe say?"
"I've beaten bigger guys on my way to a fight."
"You were a difficult birth, weren't you?"
"First time playing outside?"
“Somebody get a fire extinguisher, cause I'm on FIRE!”

These are some of the all-star trash talking lines from 445 BC. This was what Nehemiah faced as he was working on the walls of Jerusalem.

“You’re nothing but a feeble person.”

“There is no way you can bring that burned rubble back to life.”

“If a fox jumps on that wall it is going to knock it down.”

Trash talk is not new. It has been used for centuries. In fact, Satan is the king of trash talk and he uses it to discourage many people. He uses people to spew out his bitter, acidic, damaging words that get aimed right at your heart. So how does a person find an antidote for trash talk?

There are several in Nehemiah’s life. First, realize that we live in a world full of lies and trash talkers including Satan, our arch enemy. Second, mute your response. Nehemiah doesn’t fight fire with fire; he doesn’t respond with his own trash talk. He gives a gentle response. Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Third, he keeps his mission clearly in from of his eyes. To survive an attack, you must be crystal clear on the mission. What did God call Nehemiah to do? Rebuild a wall. He wasn't called to negotiate, host tea parties, establish a soccer league, or become popular. If you don’t know your mission, trash talk will crush you.

Armed with these antidotes, Nehemiah was able to deflect the trash talk and complete the wall in 52 days. What an amazing God sighting to finish that quickly after 90 years of rubble. And what happened to the trash talkers in the end? They became afraid, lost their self-confidence and forever ceased their trash talking.

That is the best way to quiet a trash talker.

Live in the victory.