
October 28, 2023 1 Timothy 5:13 And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
Definition of a gossip:
a: a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others
My mother was not a gossip. When people around her were bad-mouthing someone, she never got on the bandwagon. However, when I was a kid, my mother confided in me a lot. I think she did that because there were so many good life lessons in those mostly one-sided conversations. I loved her too much to ever betray her. It sounds like I was a good kid, right?
However, when I was in high school, I hung out with the surfers but had friends in other groups. There was one girl named Judy who was in the “popular” group. We were casual friends. One day she told me that she had slept with her boyfriend. It’s no big deal in today’s world, but way back then… She told me not to tell anyone and that I was the only person she was telling. Evidently, she saw something in me that at the time was not there. I don’t know why but I told someone else, and they told someone else…sigh. Why did I betray her confidence? I think in some sick way it made me seem cool to have such salacious information. What an idiot! I remember so vividly when she confronted me. You see I really was the only person she had told.
When I saw the hurt and anger in her eyes I was devastated. But it’s impossible to walk something like that back. We never talked again. If I had kept her secret would our friendship have grown and continued until today? I’ll never know. I learned my lesson at her expense. Shameful!
“’For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel before the sun.’ ”
The Lord never betrays us. However, if we continue in our sin there can be a breaking point. What would happen if all our thoughts, words and actions were told? Just to think of it makes me tremble! In David’s case it wasn’t until he killed Uriah that God revealed all and sent Nathan the prophet. “You are the man!” But even then, because David repented the punishment was not as severe--he didn’t die--but the consequences of his sin were far-reaching. God loved David too much to let the thing continue. Please take the time to read 2 Samuel 12.---LG
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
A perverse man sows strife,
And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
Proverbs 16:28
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