Walk of Life, Day 26 – April,2021- Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs- DONT’s
DO NOT BE A TALE BEARER.
Proverbs 26:22 “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
Tale bearers, rumor carriers, gossipers are many in this world. Have you ever wondered from where do these people come? Why do people be a talebearer or why do they show interest in gossiping? Tale bearers are not born, but they are made. Tale bearing is a sin at the same time encouraging a tale bearer is also a sin. These are few little things that we overlook, and easily get entangled in bad repercussions.
We read from the above verse about the after effects on hearing to a tale bearer. Let us try to understand a little about what makes us a tale bearer and what should we do to escape from a tale bearer.
2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
In the above verse we read about “itching ears”. Having itchy ears spiritually is not a disease by default, but is a choice by ignorance. It is we who make tale bearers or the gossipers. A blabbering tongue is satisfied by an itch ear and an itchy ear is satisfied by a blabbering tongue. If there is no itchy ear, there lies no work for a gossiping tongue. So, eventually the gossip or the rumor vanishes. As long as there are itchy ears, it is very difficult to control gossips.
It is very important to first examine ourselves and see if we have been doing the job of ‘tale bearing’. Sometimes, we easily get into this job without our knowledge. Tale bearing is nothing but discussing about a person’s life or events of his life to some other. At times, the information that you share might be true, but unnecessary. This creates a very bad image of yours in the society. Not every person shows interest in knowing about others’ life activities. However, when we start to gossip, we automatically end up finding the people with itchy ears who encourage us to continue in that bad habit. This makes us lose interest in our lives, and increases vain interest in looking into others’ lives.
There was a woman who lived alone in a village. Every day she made a phone call to her relatives to know how are they. As she stayed alone all the day, she felt very bored. So, to entertain herself she started sharing each and every single thing that happened in that village as well as whatever the relatives told her, she used to carry the same to everyone with whom she spoke. In the initial days, her relatives enjoyed listening to her. However, as the days passed by, everyone got so busy with their lives that they started ignoring this woman. This woman could not realize it, and was still busy looking into others’ lives.
On looking into the instance, who is to be blamed? Both the woman and her relatives are equally guilty. It is true that one gets bored while staying alone. This does not mean they keep gossiping about others. When someone of this sort comes to you with a gossip, which is no where related to you, it does not mean you keep quiet listening to it or you respond positively to keep their heart.
We all know this famous saying- ‘An idle mind is a devil’s workshop.’ As a child of God, it is not meant for us to be bored. We can never be idle being the children of the Highest. Because being a child of God we are entrusted to bear Christ, but not gossip. We are Christ bearers, we ought to carry the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, about the prepared Salvation to the perishing souls. This is considered as a profitable ministry. What does it profit for one to share the news related to others with people? Knowing about what is happening in their lives should burden you to pray, but not to spread it to the world.
It is really sad to find believers these days who spend less time in prayer, but more time on phone calls, either listening about others or talking about others. Sharing prayer requests is completely different.
Not just waste of time, but there is a great danger of judging people on hearing about them which is also a sin (Matthew 7:1,2).
Finally, what is our duty as a child of God? What should be our response to a tale bearer? We as the children of God are Christ bearers, so we ought to perform the duty of carrying Christ, and the word of God to whom God leads us to. In case, if we come across a tale bearer in our daily walk of life, we ought to stop them at the very first day and turn their vison to Christ. Let them see the Lord Jesus in you and taste the fellowship that you share with Him. When you introduce the Lord Jesus to those lonely souls, if they accept Him, they no longer find it interesting to peep into others’ lives.
We really need to be vigilant of these small mistakes that we often overlook, because every sin, mainly tale bearing tastes sweet in the beginning, but as we go deeper and deeper, it leaves only bitterness.
May the Lord Jesus bring us out of such pit, if we have fallen into it.
PRAYER: My Dear Lord Jesus, kindly help me in being a Christ bearer. Let me not give way for Satan to drive away my vison from your will to unnecessary things. Help me to be wise in discerning what I hear and what I speak. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
