PROVERBS 10: 18-22
18: Hate is covered up by the lips of the upright man, but he who lets out evil about another is foolish.19: Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin, but he who keeps his mouth shut does wisely.20: The tongue of the upright man is like tested silver: the heart of the evil-doer is of little value.21: The lips of the upright man give food to men, but the foolish come to death for need of sense.
Gossip, why do we do it? People love it, because it hides their own inadequacies when they speak badly about someone else. 'Did you hear, so and so has done this and that?' The next person will add another storyline and so it travels and travels. Chances are that the story was a fib from the start.
The devil loves gossip. That is why we have to decide that we'll never say anything bad about anyone else. The same rule applies when your 'friend' wants to tell you something bad about another person. Rather speak to that person yourself, and rule out your involvement in the devil's work.
Cara told me a very good story this morning. It's not about gossipping, but I would like to share it.
'A very rich man had a servant working for him. The servant would do absolutely everything for this man, cooking, cleaning, running a bath, putting out clothes etc. One day the rich man had to go away for business. On his return, he noticed that the servant had done no work, and that the he was gone. The rich man's immediate thought was that the servant had abandoned him, and that he would not be returning to work. A few days later the servant returned. The rich man, without asking the servant first where he had been, immediately started telling him how useless and pathetic he was. The servant waited for his owner to finish shouting, and then said ... I am truly sorry sir, but my child passed away.'
What am I trying to say is, just as you should not get involved in gossip you should also not assume! The servant was very loyal to his owner, but his child came first (priorities). He would not have left without asking permission, had the owner been home.
We must be careful what we say, when we say it, and how we say it. Don't hurt the ones you love, because of your own inadequacies.
God Bless!
18: Hate is covered up by the lips of the upright man, but he who lets out evil about another is foolish.19: Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin, but he who keeps his mouth shut does wisely.20: The tongue of the upright man is like tested silver: the heart of the evil-doer is of little value.21: The lips of the upright man give food to men, but the foolish come to death for need of sense.
Gossip, why do we do it? People love it, because it hides their own inadequacies when they speak badly about someone else. 'Did you hear, so and so has done this and that?' The next person will add another storyline and so it travels and travels. Chances are that the story was a fib from the start.
The devil loves gossip. That is why we have to decide that we'll never say anything bad about anyone else. The same rule applies when your 'friend' wants to tell you something bad about another person. Rather speak to that person yourself, and rule out your involvement in the devil's work.
Cara told me a very good story this morning. It's not about gossipping, but I would like to share it.
'A very rich man had a servant working for him. The servant would do absolutely everything for this man, cooking, cleaning, running a bath, putting out clothes etc. One day the rich man had to go away for business. On his return, he noticed that the servant had done no work, and that the he was gone. The rich man's immediate thought was that the servant had abandoned him, and that he would not be returning to work. A few days later the servant returned. The rich man, without asking the servant first where he had been, immediately started telling him how useless and pathetic he was. The servant waited for his owner to finish shouting, and then said ... I am truly sorry sir, but my child passed away.'
What am I trying to say is, just as you should not get involved in gossip you should also not assume! The servant was very loyal to his owner, but his child came first (priorities). He would not have left without asking permission, had the owner been home.
We must be careful what we say, when we say it, and how we say it. Don't hurt the ones you love, because of your own inadequacies.
God Bless!
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