The tongue is a powerful weapon; it can yield the “Sword of Truth,” — a tool for edification, or it can destroy both people and empires. As Christians we are encouraged by the Lord to speak life, an example of His instruction is found in Proverbs 18:21–” Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” I find the semantics of this verse in the Bible interesting, because “words” are defined as something tasty that is eaten. The context of words being taken in like food is found in Proverbs 18:8–” The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, Andthey go down into the inmost body.” If the Living Word is spiritual food, then gossip is also a dish. When we read the Holy Bible, we learn, and we grow through practicing what we preach. When we speak death, we speak curses over our bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits. We are no better than a witch/warlock when we do this ourselves and others because we are like snakes spitting venom. The term “talebearer” means an instigator that goes around spreading gossip and rumors, but in Arabic it is specified as a traveling merchant or peddler. Are you buying what they are selling?
A talebearer is poisoned by their own words, and the hearer of the tales is also poisoned. However, the target is normally untouched. An example of this is: imagine a mother is told she is failing at raising her daughters, while this could be damaging, the real damage comes from that same mother hearing her daughters’ names dragged through the dirt. It is not enough to insult the mother, but to target her kids is where it cuts deep. Now the kids may hear of this and just laugh, but the mother is the one that got the full brunt of it. I can say from experience, this brings nothing but strife on a household. Proverbs 26:20–” Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”
The town gossip should be regarded as a loaded gun and to avoid getting shot, its best to walk away and not listen to their tales. The person that is exhibiting this behavior is usually the first victim, and it is a malicious spirit operating through them. However, the more they gossip, the more it grows stronger. In a certain VeggieTales episode, there is a rumor weed that grows into a huge monstrosity. I learned this as a kid when it came to the grapevine. It began with a white lie, and then evolved through being acknowledged and accepted as truth. Even if the words being spoken are truth, we should be edifying one another and if anything negative is spoken, there must be a solution to offer aid to that person. Ephesians 4:29–” Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” We should all be building each other up and encouraging change through growth, no matter what someone may be guilty of. Remember the “Golden Rule” in Matthew 7:12– “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
