January 26

Jan 26 - Today from Proverbs 26 we look at verses 20 & 22
"Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels, they go down to a man's innermost parts."

Fools, sluggards and malicious people. That's what Proverbs 26 seems to be all about. They live all around us (and sometimes inside of us). How do we recognize them and how do we deal with them?
The Bible has a lot to say about conflict in relationships and most of it has to do with loving confrontation. As long as it is confrontation, it confines the conflict only to the parties involved. When gossip gets into the equation, the conflict spreads like fire. With gossip, people who had no business being involved are now engaged in taking up the offences of others. Once this happens, outsiders add their own thoughts and prejudices, and join the fray. Gossips are malicious people. Stop the flow of gossip and there is no longer any fuel to spread the conflict.
Now, with gossip being so destructive, one might think it would also be repulsive. But here is the paradox! Verse 22 says, in essence, that knowledge is power, and people just can't help in wanting a little more power. It’s human nature. If people know some juicy tidbit about someone else, it gives them a sense of just a little more power - because OTHER people want to know it too. Now THEY have a choice morsel to bring to the party, and they feel they can gain some social status because of it. So, one throws their stick of coveted knowledge into the dying embers of another’s misfortune and the flames flare up once more. If others are impressed with the contribution, they hunger for more information. The contributor becomes the center of attention. What power!
As a believer, our sense of value and our security is in Christ Jesus. Having a little more kindling to throw into the flames of conflict to impress others should no longer be a driving need in our lives. In fact, this kind of behavior actually grieves the Holy Spirit, whose desire is to heal and to make peace. We need to discipline ourselves not to become involved in gossip, and we need to learn how to effectively cut off the gossip vines when they wind their way into our sphere of influence. Our task is not to add to the fires of conflict, but to be peacemakers. It is the peacemakers who will be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9).