To tell or Not

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

TO TELL OR NOT

Prov 17:9

9 He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

NIV

There is much to be said about keeping the confidence of a close friend, a fellow believer. Is there any of us who has never committed an offense? How would we feel if our closest and dearest friend posted our offense on Facebook? There was an old saying which might be more truthful than we want it to be. “If you want to spread the news, use a telegraph, telephone or tell a Christian”. This saying certainly seems to speak directly to gossip. The problem with sharing an offense is it usually gets back to the one who committed the offense and then the friendship is in ruins. Once trust is broken, although it is not impossible, it is difficult to mend. We must be careful not to break that trust in the first place. If we could be only realize we are not offense free and thus who are we to be sharing what someone did. Gossip only makes, for a short time, the spreader of it feel better about themselves than they should. There is no reason other than self-promotion to repeat a matter. We need to promote love not separation. We need to hold close those who are friends. If someone is neither part of the problem nor part of the solution, do they really need to know about it? We should be very careful not to share a friend’s offense as a prayer request either. That is just trying to sugarcoat gossip. An open mind and a closed mouth make great friends, but a closed mind and open mouth destroy friends.