“Wherefore, if the true fear and love of God dwell in us, we must endeavour, as far as is lawful and expedient, and as far as charity admits, neither to listen nor give utterance to bitter and acrimonious charges, nor rashly entertain sinister suspicions.”
–John Calvin (1509–1564)
Source: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1845–1846), 2.8.48, 412.
Reflection: How might our commitment to Christ change the way we speak about others when they are absent, especially when criticism or suspicion feels justified?