READING: Proverbs 25:1-29:27
I suppose every church has at least one quarrelsome person. It seems they are always in the middle of any interpersonal conflict—or, at a minimum, they work hard to learn every ounce of information they can learn about the situation. They not only want to know what’s going on, but they also want everyone else to know they know. Along the way, they both contribute to the conflict and create more.
The writer of Proverbs warned against such a person. This kind of person fuels the fires of conflict in the church. Their very attitude and disposition are embers to the flames of turmoil. What they don’t typically realize, though, is that their love for gossip (what seems to them to be like “choice food” taken in) actually corrupts their innermost being. They who use information and gossip against others ultimately hurt themselves to the core of their being.
The solution? The writer of Proverbs tells us that, too: some of us need to stop gossiping, and others of us need to stop listening to those who do gossip. If nobody listens, the fire dies down.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you guilty of gossiping and promoting quarrels?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, help me to speak only that which builds up others today—and not to listen to gossips.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Proverbs 30:1-31:31