How many of us have been guilty of shaking our heads and saying, “Tsk, tsk” at something we see or hear? This is an indication that we personally disagree with it, find it odd, think it inappropriate, uncultured or feel it shows lack of education. As humans, we all have our own likes and dislikes, which are not right or wrong, but often stem from our own upbringing, culture, environment, or society. But nevertheless, showing our displeasure is in poor taste and we obviously do it without thinking or we would not do it at all. This means, however, that it has become a conditioned response, a knee jerk reaction, and an unbelievably bad habit that needs to be changed. This is an example of how we should allow our spiritual maturity to dictate to us and lead us as to how to react when we see or hear things that may be disagreeable. Because the act of wagging our heads at others can be summed up in one word, and that is ‘judging.’
We must guard against judging others lest we be judged with the same measuring stick that we measured them with, and we may not be able to take our own medicine. In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” So often the one who talks the loudest cannot live up to what they are preaching, when the rubber meets the road. In the 2001 movie called “Legally Blond”, with Reese Witherspoon as the lead female actress, the law students were assisting in a case that involved a high profile, TV, beauty/fitness consultant who was accused of murder and was ultimately released. Though she was not guilty, she initially did not want anyone to know her alibi because if the truth about her own hypocrisy came out, her career and name would be ruined. At the time of the murder, she was in a medical facility getting liposuction, when all the while she had been claiming that her exercise program should receive the credit for her toned body. And before we wag our heads and say, “How awful, I would never,” Let us read Matthew 7:3-5 where Jesus continues, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
In Psalm 64:1-10 the writer beseeches God, “Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So, they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.” When we seek God, instead of allowing ourselves to be drawn into the gossip, head wagging, and judging, God will exonerate us and take care of things. Romans 12:19 states, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
We see in the account of Psalm 64 that firstly; the enemies of the Lord were talking against the chosen people. You could hear the chatter of those drawing their own conclusions from small snippets of gossip they had overheard. Secondly, because of this, they began to conspire against the Israelites, and began to have disagreements, becoming disgruntled against them and ultimately, to declare war against them. Thirdly, the people of God began to cry out for help to the Lord and He delivered them. What an impressive and wonderful story, right? However, once this happens, they began to wag their heads and say, “Tsk, tsk,” to the enemy, which displeased God. Fourthly, the fear of the Lord came upon them all because they began to ponder and think about his displeasure with them, and how they had nothing to do with the victory, but it was God who had brought deliverance. Fifthly, once they begin to ponder His goodness and his mighty works, God received the Glory that was rightfully his. Sixthly, the righteous rejoiced. We must be careful of the bad habit we have formed of ‘wagging our heads,’ and remember where our help and strength comes from, lest we steal the Glory that belongs to the Lord. It is God who delivers and God who judges.
Wagging our heads or saying, “I told you so,” is not pretty, nor an attractive habit to have. In fact, in scripture, it was seen as quite degrading and seen as part of a punishment. In Jeremiah 18:15-16 he is told to prophesy to the people, “Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; everyone that passes thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.” Jeremiah also says again in Lamentation 2:13-17, “What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, we have swallowed her up: certainly, this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.” Another such prophecy came in Zephaniah 2:15, “This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! everyone that passes by her shall hiss and wag his hand.”
Let us not be guilty of wagging our heads at others because they are gossiping, chattering, and busy bodies, because in doing so, we will be counted among them. Keep in mind, most gossipers are just talkers, not actors. They could be considered as cowards, because they will hide when they think they are going to be called on the falsehoods they have been spreading. Our own thoughts, doctrines, or perspectives are not enough for us to be guilty of destroying others, because of their lack of knowledge or maturity. We should rise above the noise and show longsuffering, patience, and kindness, rather than saying, “Nanny, nanny, boo, boo” when we see others fail or fall. No one wins when hearts are broken, or someone is shamed, slandered, or wounded, and an “I told you so,” only proves to be salt in the open sore, not helpful, or healing, or Christlike. Now, if we find ourselves on the other side of the coin, and we’re the ones who are down and out, or facing hard times, our response should be to pray and ask God to shut the mouths of the naysayers, and to bring the head waggers to naught, then stand back and see the salvation of the Lord, as Moses said. As seen in Psalms 64, when we humble ourselves before God, he will bring us deliverance. Give God glory, walk away, leave it alone, and rejoice in the Lord. Be careful not to wag your head too early, Pharoah, because the walls of the sea are about to fall upon you! God will fight for His people. Once the Egyptians drowned, the Israelites began to sing praises unto the Lord and sing songs of deliverance.
Another one-word description for ‘head wagging’ is bullying. Though this has been happening for thousands of years, a spotlight is being put on it now because of the politically correct movement. Just let me say right up front, this is not a Godly action, and it starts with adults, though kids often take the blame. The scripture states, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Charity suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” Colossians 3:21 says, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” We must not taunt, tease, or frustrate others, especially our own children who are in a vulnerable stage of life, but rather use our influence over them to teach them how to behave towards others. Kids are teased about anything and everything, from every direction, they do not need this in their own home, from the ones closest to them that they look up to. We must be attentive so we can recognize signs if our loved ones are being bullied, and they should be taught not to bully others as well. They learn from our example, it is displeasing to God, and there are consequences to actions. Do not turn a blind eye if you see your child engaging in teasing and bullying others, take it as an opportunity to teach them, because someone is being hurt emotionally, physically, or both.
Another word that can convey the definition of ‘head wagging’ is, mocking. 2 Kings 22:25 tells us this story, “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.” There were consequences to their actions. We must beware not to wag our tongues or heads at anyone, especially those God has placed in authority in our lives.
Psalm 22:1-8 give this prophecy about the Messiah, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but you heard not; and in the night season and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”
Matthew 27:25-43 gives us the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Jesus, “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, they parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus the King of The Jews. Then there were two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, thou that destroys the temple, and builds it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” The mocking was awful yet that is what we are doing to others when we wag our heads at the; however, we have read the back of the book, and we know that Jesus won that round!
Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Head waggers, judgers, bullies, and mockers, do not provide solutions to any problem that would arise in this sin sick world. We need to stop being part of the problem and take positive actions toward a solution, rather than always criticizing. We must change our ways before God and stop wagging our heads thinking everyone else is the problem and not us. Acts 17:30 says, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Over the past two years, a coworker and I, in the position that I held in my employment, spent many days wagging our heads at the things that were done, that just did not make good common sense. We would joke and say that we have wagged our heads in disbelief so much, that we should have bobble dolls made of ourselves; however, none of this served to solve the issues we were facing with our managers and circumstances. Though we did offer solutions, our voice was not heard, which put us on a rollercoaster of emotions daily and a merry-go-round of unresolved issues. We were being treated like kindergarteners, scrutinized, and bullied, otherwise known in our employee handbook as, ‘workplace harassment.’ Though we tried to address these things by going through proper channels, it was to no avail. I suppose I could still be there on that roundabout, but I chose to get off and find a solution for myself, and that is a new position in a different department, for which I am grateful and rejoicing. Though I am excited about the new challenge, I do grieve for the co-worker left behind. Seeking solutions is of utmost importance, to get you out of the cycle of head wagging you may be in. It is not cute, attractive, of any virtue, it causes bitterness and will get you nowhere, even if the solution is to walk away it must be done.
1 Peter 2:21-25 gives us the example we need to follow, speaking of Jesus, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously:Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” His example to us was that he has been longsuffering, and taken our shame upon Himself, so we should in turn, not judge, mock, bully, or wag our heads at others, but offer forgiveness and grace as we have received. In so doing, we will be surprised how quickly God will step in and solve our problems or perceived misunderstandings. Ephesians 2:4-9 tells us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
We must stop wagging our heads, and remember what Paul said in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” We must acknowledge this about ourselves also, and Isaiah 64:6 reminds us, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags.” Our deliverance and victory come from God. Before you wag your head at someone again, remember, if it were not for the grace of God, we could be in their shoes.