Proverbs 11:13, 20:19
A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.
Gossiping always involves sharing information which is none of one's business. It may or may not be a "secret", but if it is not my business to be sharing it, I am gossiping. Even worse to share information which was entrusted to me. I am always a bit uncomfortable when someone (socially) tells me a "secret". I have this nagging fear that I will forget that the information is not to be repeated. For me it is usually best to remain quiet if I am not sure about about the "provenance" of my information. (I do get a fair amount of practice holding onto secrets with the work that I do. 😇)
Holy Lord, Help me to avoid gossip. Where gossip is concerned, my social standards must be just as high as my professional standards. Amen
Becky, transforming
Pic by Kay
Provers 11:13, 20:19
When a conversation begins with, “Did you hear?” We should turn away as it is often just second hand gossip. This is news being spread often without the knowledge of the subject or something told in confidence. Young school girls/boys are notorious in behaving this way. Hopefully their parents’ instruction and simply growing up and understanding the consequences, puts that behavior behind them.
Prayer: Gracious God, I know gossip is tempting, so please keep me from being a part of it. If I am told gossip, may it then become a secret that stays with me. Amen
Secrets
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Proverbs 11:13.. Proverbs 20:19
A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.
A gossip betrays a confidence, so avoid a man who talks to much
The subject this week is secrets. This reminds me of our former Pastor Sue Job, who made it very clear in her time with us at CUMC she will not tolerate gossip. Gossip is alive and well in our world. gossip reveals secrets. - That confidence is shattered when someone takes the information and makes it public. The gossip goes even further and adds to the damaging information to make it worse. What we say reveals who we are and more specifically, what we say when we…
Proverbs 11:13, 20:19
When teaching, repetition is a valuable tool. Here we see a verbatim repeat of the first part of two verses in Proverbs, nine chapters apart. It must be important. Gossip is not merely annoying. It is anti-scriptural. There was an article written in the early seventies by one of the pioneers of forensic pathology in the US named Alan Moritz. The title is “Classical Mistakes in Forensic Pathology.” The last one isn’t exactly gossip, but is close enough to be relevant. That mistake is, “talking too much, too soon and to the wrong people.” This is a mistake worth avoiding in all aspects of life.
Prayer - Patient God, guard my heart so that I may effectively…