4 Minute Read + Scripture readings
TODAY’S BIBLE READING:
Lamentations 1:1–2:22
Philemon 1:1-25
Psalm 101:1-8
Proverbs 26:20
TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):
Proverbs 26:20 (CSB): “Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.”
REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):
It seems as if gossip is a theme that keeps popping up in our daily readings. So, we’ll address it again.
In our Verses for Today, we see a Proverb that compares one thing to the other. The first word picture that is mentioned is this: “Without wood, fire goes out.”
That is easy to understand, isn’t it? If there is no wood, a fire goes out. If you want a fire to keep burning, add wood. It’s really that simple.
Then, the Proverb compares it to something else: “without a gossip, conflict dies down.”
Do you want conflicts to stop? Then stop the gossip. Stop talking behind the scenes. Stop saying bad things about others.
Do you want conflicts to keep going? Then keep gossiping. Keep up the talking and whispering in the shadows. Keep undermining others. Keep judging their actions or motives.
It’s really that easy. Gossip is like wood on a fire that keeps the fiery conflict going. Christians who are serious about following Jesus should be engaged in neither.
Let’s end by defining our terms. What is gossip, after all?
It seems to me that gossip is when we say something bad about someone else (it may be true and it may be false) to someone who doesn’t need to know and probably won’t do anything constructive with the information.
Are you guilty of that? Then please stop because it is something that the Lord absolutely despises. Read the following verses where it tells us of the things that the Lord hates, paying special attention to the very last thing.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (CSB):
“The LORD hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet eager to run to evil,
a lying witness who gives false testimony,
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.”
Matt’s Musings 