(You might recognize this as an article written early in the CouchPotatoRedux ministry. I thought it would be good to publish it again because the message is so important. Besides, there are many new readers since it was first published.)
“Where no wood is, there the fire goes out: so where there is no talebearer (gossip) the strife ceases.” Gossip has been preached about since preaching began, but all of the preaching hasn’t stopped it. (This is probably one of those things what will end when the world does. J) There is just something about we human beings that makes us want to spread tales about each other. All of us have our horror stories about the damage that gossip has done. Perhaps all of us know someone who has been a victim of gossip. Perhaps we have all been victims of gossip at some time or other. Proverbs 26:20 describes the nature of gossip as being like wood added to a fire. (I think Solomon intended a little humor here.) The first thing I want to do is to deal with the principle given in the text. How does one keep a fire going? By adding wood and the more wood that is added, the bigger the fire gets. If we stop adding wood, the fire goes out. Gossip is like that. It usually begins small, like a small campfire. More gossip is added and it becomes a bonfire. As more gossip is added it becomes a forest fire. James might have had this proverb in mind when he wrote: “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.” (James 3:5-6) As I read this, I could imagine the wood being added to the fire. I could almost smell the fire burning. In Psalm 15, David describes a righteous person: “He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.” In others word, he does not gossip. The second thing I want to do is give an imaginary example of the harm that gossip can do. If I give a real example, it might be a little bit like spreading gossip. J (See a little humor in this story as well.) This is a story about Deacon Brown, who was a stalwart member of the local Baptist Church. One day Deacon Brown was seen walking unsteadily down the street. Someone from the aforementioned church saw him and called a friend to report what he/she had seen. He/she said, “I saw Deacon Brown walking unsteadily down the street. He appeared to be drunk.” The person that he/she called, called someone else and said: “Deacon Brown was seen staggering down the street as ‘drunk as a skunk.’” The person that he/she called also told someone else: “Deacon Brown got drunk and was seen staggering down the street drunk, with a woman on each arm.” On and on it went. Now, what really happened? Deacon Brown had a terrible bursitis pain in his left shoulder. He walked down the street from his office to the doctor’s office. The doctor gave him a prescription, and, to give him immediate relief gave him a powerful pain pill. The doctor told Deacon Brown that he would have to call his wife to pick him up because the pill would make a little “woozy.” (Is that a word?) His wife picked him up down the street in front of his office. When Deacon Brown unsteadily reached the car, his wife got out and helped him into the car. That’s what really happened. It took Deacon Brown and his wife a few weeks to straighten the matter out, but they eventually did and the local Baptists were happy and forever gave up gossip. J Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|