Proverbs 26:20




'Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.'
I wonder what the writer of Proverbs would have made of social media! His words couldn’t be more relevant to today’s world, in which gossip can be communicated faster than lightning. Words have always had the power to destroy and many of the Proverbs focus on the danger of them being used carelessly. The trouble with words is that we all use so many of them; it is the easiest thing in the world for them to cause hurt, pain and division.
Proverbs 17:27 reads: “A truly wise person uses few words.” I’m really grateful for that observation but, if I’m honest, I’m not sure what to do with it. I spend my days writing, mentoring, pastoring, preaching and teaching people. Words are fundamental to the way in which we communicate and although I could possibly use fewer words sometimes, I still need to use a large number of them!
The writer of the Proverbs is concerned that we use our words to build up and not to destroy. Building words are ones that bring strength and courage to other people. I love Proverbs 25:11: “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” We all need to aspire to share more words like that, and keep a watch on those words which can be more like Molotov cocktails! The trouble is that we all enjoy having privileged information and the temptation to share it can be extremely difficult to resist. But resist we must! If we ever say to someone: “Just between you and me”, “Promise me you won’t mention this to anyone else” or, famously, “Just within these four walls” you can be pretty sure that we should have kept our mouth shut. You can be sure that the person you have shared your special nugget with will conclude that they are never safe sharing their private information with you in the future. You have proved yourself to be a gossip.


The Psalmist knew what he was talking about when he said: “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips” (Psalm 141:3). We all need to say a loud “Amen” to that!




Question: How do you seek to avoid gossip?
Prayer: Loving Father, help me to use my words in a way that will build people up today. Amen

Released on 6 Sep 2022