Gossip
By:
Jennifer Austin
Presented
to Ladies Class On
April
29, 2003
Proverbs
26:17-28
17)
He that passeth by, and meddleth
with strife belonging not to him, is like one that
taketh a dog by the ears.
18)
As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
19)
So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and
saith, Am not I in sport?
20)
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth
out: so where there
is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
21)
As coals are to burning coals, and
wood to fire; so is a contentious man
to kindle strife.
22)
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and
they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
23)
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a
potsherd covered with silver dross.
24)
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit
within him;
25)
When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are
seven abominations in his heart.
26)
Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be
showed before the whole congregation.
27)
Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a
stone, it will return upon him.
28)
A lying tongue hateth those that are
afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
There are four points
that I would like to point out from this scripture.
1.
The first is meddling.
Meddling is interfering mischievously. How many times have we set around
talking about others business as it was our own? Telling people, “if it
was me I would do this or that”. When our friend, our children, our
spouse is trying to deal with something we are the first ones there to
stick our nose in it and tell them what to do or what they are doing
wrong. He compares meddling to taking a dog by the ears. I know if I tried
to drag my dog by the ears I would probably get bit very quickly. The dogs
they had then were not pets they were wild dogs that you did not dare grab
a hold of.
2.
The second thing is deception
as a form of entertainment. Verses18 and 19 he says we are out of our
minds, crazy as a madman (compared to one who goes around throwing arrows
killing people) if we deceive our neighbors and then cast it off as a
joke.
“Nettie,
I didn’t really mean it when I told Elaine you were having problems in
your marriage, I didn’t think she would take me serious.”
Entertainment
is something we do to keep ourselves amused or bored. When we are sitting
around talking about others we are doing it to entertain ourselves and the
person we are with.
3.
The third point is Malicious
Gossip. Verses 20-22 deal with this matter. First of all we will define a
Talebearer. It is one who tells stories/piece of gossip/or a lie. After
gossiping has started if we continue to go about spreading it we are
adding tot the fire. If we just shut our mouths we could stop it and allow
it to go out. All this does is encourages more gossiping and hurts those
involved. One of the other versions correctly replaces the word Wounds
with Morsels. So let us read this again and put morsels in its place. The
words of a talebearer are as morsels, and they go down into the innermost
parts of the belly. We all know that when we eat anything it goes into our
mouth, down our throat, through our chest into the intestines, to our
stomach. But it does not stop there it them begins to be broken down and
parts are absorbed and released into the blood stream, tissues, etc. So
when we eat something it affects our whole body. So a talebearer affects
everyone not just them and the one who is gossiped about. In 1 Corinthians
8:12
it says, “But when ye sin so against the
brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.”
4.
The fourth point is
Hypocritical Words. Verse 23 A potsherd is a piece of broken pottery and
dross is the waste on top of molten metal or waste matter. So Burning lips
and a wicked heart are like a piece of broken pottery covered with silver
waste matter. Yucky stuff on it. So it is just garbage something not any
longer useful. Vs 24 talks about one that hates another but flatters him
when he is around. Vs 25 Abominations: A terrible, nasty, ugly,
despicable, disgusting thing. Don’t believe him when he is being nice
because he has a bad heart with no good in it.
Vs. 26 He is full of lies and will be showed before all of us. Vs
27 He will dig his own hole and all he has done to others will soon come
back to haunt him.
What can we do to stop
us from Gossiping?
1.
Do not assume anything. When
we assume someone’s feeling or reasons for doing something we are
guessing. Even if we believe they are based on facts. We may not have all
of the facts.
2.
Keep our mouth shut. It says
in Prov 13:3 “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; but he that
openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. ”Prov
10:19
“In the multitude of words there wanteth
no sin; but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”
3.
If you say something mean it,
stand behind it. Don’t say anything you would not repeat to the person.
Matt
5:37
“But let you communication be, yea, yea;
nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil”
4.
Use our words to edify one
another. In Romans
14:19
Paul said, “Let us therefore follow after
the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify
another.” Also in 1Thes
5:11
he says, “Wherefore comfort yourselves
together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
5.
Think on things that are good.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things ore just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever thins are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on
these things.”
6.
Pray. Prayer builds a closer
relationship with God. It helps us to focus on things we should instead of
things we shouldn’t.
If we have our minds
and our bodies busy doing the things we should for God, we will not have
the time, and energy to sit around talking about others business. There is
plenty for us to do, if we study the scripture we will find it
overwhelming how much we should be doing. What would Jesus Do? I have yet
to read where he sat around talking about what Matthew said to Luke and
stating that if it was him he would have done it differently!!
