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𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟏𝟖:𝟖

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲.

Gossip is sin, and it is cruel and painful sin. Spreading news about a person can ruin a reputation and destroy friendships. True love covers faults and failures; telling them is hateful wickedness. Protect others by keeping secrets to yourself and by silencing tattlers.

God hates talebearing, which is telling things about another person that should be kept private. It does not matter if the things are true or not. If they are not true, then telling is slander; if they are true, then it is talebearing. If there is not a very strong reason from God or an authority to disclose a personal matter, then keep negative information buried.

Talebearers spread private news about others; they are cruel and wicked. God considered this proverb important enough to repeat it (Pr 26:22). Learn the rule. Solomon also wrote, “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (Pr 11:13). And, “He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets” (Pr 20:19).

Gossip and tattling at home and school used to be punished, for men once knew God’s law. He condemned talebearing by Moses in 1531 B.C. (Lev 19:16). Talebearing is the same as backbiting, tattling, and whispering in the Bible, four sins that are condemned as wickedness (Pr 16:28; 26:20-26; Ps 15:3; Rom 1:29-30; II Cor 12:20; I Tim 5:13).

Mothers used to say, “If you cannot say something good about another person, then say nothing at all about them.” This is precious advice from a generation that feared God and knew Bible wisdom. If only good and positive things were shared about others, just think how loving and unifying that would be for families, businesses, churches, and nations!

Talebearing hurts the reputation of the person with the private fault, sin, or event being told; it also hurts the person hearing the report, for it damages his opinion of his friend. The effects of this common sin are very destructive with deep, long-lasting consequences. The damage and pain occurs in the most inner parts, the heart and the soul (Pr 20:27,30).

Once you reveal private information, what can you do? It is near impossible to correct your sin. You cannot take back words you foolishly or maliciously let out of your mouth. Those that heard you cannot totally erase what you told them, no matter how much you ask them to try. You have wounded the character and reputation of another; you have undermined friendship or unity by revealing private information about others. This is sin!

This sin is the r**e of a man or woman’s name and person, which can last a lifetime, so the Bible warns against it often. Learn this lesson of noble character and never violate it. Never say anything critical of others, unless you have to for godly or authority reasons. Think positive things about others, so negative words never come out (Matt 12:34-37).

Telling personal information about others has become well accepted. It is honored as excellence in news reporting by the media. There are radio and television programs and Internet sites dedicated to spreading rumors and/or news about people, especially those in authority. This is one of the chief signs and symptoms of this despicable generation.

A talebearer tells secrets (Pr 11:13; 20:19). He, or often she, cannot keep the news to himself. He wants to spread it to damage the character and standing of another person or to gratify curiosity and be perceived as an informed person. Both motives are from hell! If you have a concern about another person, tell it to them alone (Pr 25:9; Matt 18:15).

What should you do, if a person starts to gossip in your presence? Solomon wrote, “The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue” (Pr 25:23). You should first get angry to show them that you do not approve at all. If that does not work, tell them they are wrong. If they persist, then get away and stay away.

This proverb does not prevent informing an authority about a crime or potential crime. Calling the police about suspicious activities is not talebearing. Reporting a crime is not talebearing. Those in authority have a need for information. Only a little wisdom should see the huge difference between talebearing and helping authority (Gen 37:2; I Cor 1:11).

Love is an important part of the Christian religion (Col 3:12-15), and love will only do what is in the best interest of other persons, including keeping personal information secret (Pr 10:12; 17:9; I Pet 4:8). Love of others, their reputations, and their friendships should put a guard on your tongue. Your goal should be to build them up, not tear them down.

Many claim to be Christian, but the real evidence and proof is not in words, but in actions (Jas 2:14-20). True Christianity is more a lifestyle than a creed. And the single greatest evidence of Christianity is not faith, but love (Jn 13:34-35; I Cor 13:13). Love shows the greatest change in a person. God declared that a person learning to love others correctly, like never backbiting or talebearing, is greater than an apostle (I Cor 12:31; 13:1-7).

https://letgodbetrue.com/proverbs/index/chapter-18/proverbs-18-8/

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝟏𝟕:𝟗

𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞; 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.

Forgive and forget is love. Do you know how to win love and build friendships? They are arts taught by wisdom – they are learned behavior. All men are naturally arrogant, envious, hateful, malicious, selfish, and vengeful (Rom 1:29-31; II Tim 3:2-3; Tit 3:3).

Only God’s grace can save a man from his inherited evil tendencies from Adam. Then love and friendship can be learned by wisdom (Pr 8:9; 14:6; Tit 3:4-7). Dale Carnegie’s ideas on winning friends and influencing people are very inferior to Solomon’s wisdom.

Have you learned love and friendship? Are you a loving friend? Do others rejoice in your friendship? Do you have many friends? True love and friendship overlook and forget personal offences against you, but foolish men will bring them up and destroy peaceful relationships. True love and friendship never repeat a person’s failures or sins to others, but foolish men will be backbiting, talebearing, and whispering (Pr 10:12; 11:13; 16:28).

Covering a transgression is how you show love and win friends. It is forgiving and forgetting personal wrongs others do to you. A certainty of human relations is that others will irritate and offend you. But what you do with those personal transgressions is the key. By ignoring the provocations and slights of others, you esteem them more important than yourself – which is true love and friendliness (Phil 2:3; I Cor 13:4-7).

Wise men glory in opportunities to pass over personal transgressions by others; their discretion and self-control eliminate their anger (Pr 19:11). Nothing ruffles them, especially the minor irritations that commonly occur among men. They know they have been forgiven much, so it is easy for them to forgive others. They know they have beams in their eyes, so they do not worry about the minor specks in others’ eyes (Matt 7:3-5).

Covering a transgression is how you show love and win friends. It silences every backbiting tongue and drives away every talebearer and whisperer (Pr 11:13; 16:28; 18:8; 20:19; 25:23; 26:20-22; Ps 101:5). It refuses to repeat rumors or facts that degrade a person’s reputation. True love thinks no evil of others and does not rejoice when it hears of failures or sins in others’ lives (I Cor 13:4-7). Covering a transgression is burying news that reflects poorly on another’s character. Love protects the reputations of others.

Covering transgressions is not compromising with sin. If a man sins against the LORD, it must be dealt with differently than offences between men (I Sam 2:25; I Cor 5:1-5; 6:7). God’s rules for handling these greater matters are dealt with throughout the Scriptures. You should never cover or overlook sin against God to win or keep friends. The topic at hand is personal offences you may cover (Pr 19:11; Matt 5:38-48; 18:15-22; I Cor 6:1-8), or the failures and sins of others that are not your responsibility. If a man has repented of a sin, no matter how heinous, there is no love or profit in repeating it to others.

Arrogant and rebellious men will not learn the wisdom of covering personal offences, and ignorant and foolish men cannot learn it. Both pretend they must protect themselves by reminding others about faults and weaknesses. They believe they must avenge any slight they feel from others. They cannot let offences pass. They must remind others of their sins. They burn inside, sometimes for years, for slight offences. They must get revenge.

In order to justify themselves and demote others, they repeat any failure they hear about others. They have a burning heart that loves to hear gossip about others and spread it widely. They receive perverse pleasure by being able to insinuate and whisper about the sins of others. These wicked beasts do not know love and thus seldom have real friends.

Love and friendship begin in the heart. When others offend you, ignore it, even in your heart. When others slight you, ignore it, even in your heart. When others provoke you, think kind and merciful thoughts about them. Do not think of reprisal. Forget the matter. Do not plan an opportunity to bring it up. When others fail or have sin in their lives, do not gloat or glory about it. Be known only for repeating blessings and successes of others.

Love and friendship are best practiced at home. If you can be charitable, gracious, and merciful with siblings or a spouse, you can be so to any man. Children must be taught to overlook sibling offences rather than tattle or revenge them; they must be taught to never repeat sibling failures to others. They must learn to cover offences and seek love.

This proverb can enhance your marriage. Because marriage is a familiar and intimate relationship with another, you will know more of your spouse’s faults and failures than any other person. Can you cover, forgive, and overlook without saying anything? Or do you think that bringing up the matter again helps either you or them? You know nothing about love, and you will destroy your marriage by building walls between marital friends.

Ignore and overlook personal offences against you by others. Do not repeat rumors, gossip, or facts about others that put them in a bad light. Both of these are sins against Christian charity that destroy love and friendships. Let every man show the same forgiveness to others that God has shown to him (Eph 4:31-32). The joy and security of faults and failures being forgiven and forgotten are blessings of the Christian religion.

https://letgodbetrue.com/proverbs/index/chapter-17/proverbs-17-9/