| “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” |
| —Proverbs 17:9 |
Has anyone ever told you something that you could hardly wait to pass along to someone else? Maybe it was a juicy piece of gossip. Maybe it was some news that put someone you didn’t like in a very bad light. Maybe it was a story that seemed funny, but actually reflected rather badly on someone, or made them look particularly silly.
Whatever the motivation, you felt you absolutely had to share this piece of news with someone else. Wait! STOP! Don’t do it! Just shut your mouth! Why? Because gossiping is never right. It reflects very poorly on you and can prove devastating to someone else.
I know the minute I write those words some of you are protesting:
“You don’t understand. The news was too juicy not to pass along. I rarely get the chance to feel as important as I do when I have this kind of startling news. Having this news and not sharing it would be tragic for my own sense of superiority and self-worth. Don’t you understand?”
Whatever excuse you may offer just won’t fly. Imagine what the world would be like if we kept all such spiteful news to ourselves, without repeating every so-called “juicy bit of news” that comes our way. Our world would be a so much more peaceful, kind, and loving place in which to live.
It’s a known fact that people who stir up controversy among others contribute to a great deal of stress, whether it’s at home, in school, at church, or in the workplace. It’s a simple truth that not every person likes every other person. There are a whole lot of reasons why some personalities just clash. But, why fuel the fire that may exist between two people by gossiping about them to one another. If you do that, you become an instrument of evil, rather than an instrument of good.
King Solomon understood the importance of keeping one’s own counsel. Part of his greatness was his ability to get along with others. In very troubling times within the region where King Solomon lived, He often acted as an intermediary between disagreeing individuals. He could do this because he did not repeat bad things that people said about each other. Notice what King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:9:
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Love covers over an offense. That’s the kind of reality we should strive for as we begin another day.
This very day, let’s determine to speak a word of caution to our own selves. Let’s not repeat bad things about others. Let’s abstain from gossip. We will be so much better off if we keep our own counsel about most things. And, when we’re tempted to gossip, let’s each one of us say to ourselves: “Well, shut my mouth!”
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2017
