August 25 - Be Quiet

by Audrey Bauman

Proverbs 25: 9 - 10  NLT

9 When arguing with your neighbor,
     don’t betray another person’s secret.
10 Others may accuse you of gossip,
     and you will never regain your good reputation. 

Solomon really knows how be blunt in his advice. Basically - DON'T GOSSIP!

The dictionary defines gossip as "idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others".  Over my lifetime, I've heard many stories about the mistakes that people have made and the struggles they have gone through. Especially, when I was a young mom, we would chat with friends as our children played together, and the "stories" definitely got around. As a mother of a teenagers, I certainly heard lots of stories. Some of them I was glad to know because it helped me keep my daughters away from some "iffy" situations. 

But Solomon says we are not to talk about the "secrets" we hear about people. If you want a "good reputation" (v. 10) you need to keep quiet. Be the person who others trust. Be the person who can hear the struggles of a friend, and that friend knows you will pray for them but not talk. 

Isn't that what is so special about God? We can talk to him and confess all our sin and struggles to him, knowing that he will love us, guide us, and stay quiet. God's love for us is so deep, and it keeps us steady knowing he is with us. I love these verses in Ephesians 3 that assure me of God's love for me:

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." 

It's when we realize God's love for us, that we can love others too.  And then, it's easier to keep our mouths shut when we hear those "juicy" stories about someone else.

Our song for today is Speak Life by TobyMac.