Gossip

Good Morning,

Proverbs 26:20 (NKJV)
Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
Proverbs 26:20 (NLT)
Fire goes out without wood,
and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

"Did you hear about John?!" "Oh, what do you think about how Mary.....?" "Isn't it terrible that Pete....?" "Well, Mike is just being so...!"

You do it. I do it. We all do it. We gossip. We listen to gossip. We are involved in gossip. And, unfortunately, most of us pretty much like gossip. There's just something about that little nugget of knowledge about someone or something that draws us in and grabs us. Whether that little nugget is true or not, well, that's a whole different story and message. It's just that gossiping thing that we like so much and that we are involved in perpetuating way too often.

Gossip is, I firmly believe, directly from the devil. It just sounds and feels like something that Satan would come up with in order to confuse and divide Christians so we won't be as effective and loving as we ought to be. Gossip, in my humble opinion, is sinful. Therefore, if my logic is right and I'm not totally off base in this and I'm hearing clearly then, to gossip is to sin. I don't think I'm wrong here.

I don't think we need all of the little details about how and what gossip can do in people's lives. Most of us have been the subject of some kind of gossip at one time or another and we know what it does. For those who have been fortunate enough to have NOT been such a subject, I'm sure those have seen what happens when folks gossip. Here's the one thing that I will speak to. Gossip, more often than not, isn't true. Well, it certainly isn't 100% true, anyway. So, when we gossip we are probably lying. Just one more reason to NOT gossip!

Today we're given a reminder that we probably need to have on a regular basis about this subject. We will go from reading these words to making a promise to God and to ourselves to simply refuse to be involved in any gossip what so ever. We'll make a vow or sorts in our minds to try to stop gossip that we hear people speaking. But, over a short time, we tend to forget those vows and promises and get caught up in something "gossipy" in spite of all of our good intentions. The enemy will continue to use this tool to try to trap us and get us into conversations that we ought to be avoiding. So, it stands to reason that we ought to be reminded regularly what the Bible says about gossip.

Today is one of those regular reminders. For you. For me. For all of us.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David