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24-Jan-2004
Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Proverbs 19:9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
The thought for today is simple, after reading the verses above I am sure you already know what is meant by them! Proverbs 13:3 tells us to not speak of things we shouldn't speak of. If we see, or hear any gossip, or degrading things about someone we are to put them out of our thoughts, and under no circumstances are we to speak them to someone else! Because if we tell things that are of no concern to us, it will come back to destroy us. Ignore gossip when you hear it, because that is just what it is GOSSIP!
Now in Proverbs 18:21 it says that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and this is so true! Lies can kill! Lies and false truths can not only physically kill, as in murder, suicide, manslaughter ect. but, it can kill spiritually also! Spreading lies and false truths about someone can destroy their spirit, it can cause them to walk away from God. Then it says, "and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Anyone that enjoys telling lies, or hearing lies shall eat the fruit thereof, which means if you lie, and listen to lies then you can expect the same to come upon you! If you enjoy gossipping about someone, and putting others down for their weakness', then expect the same to come upon you! Any bad thing you say to someone else about another person, be it truth or lie you can expect things to be told on you that are not true.
Remember, many good people are persecuted for Christ' sake, lies and false truths are told on them not because they have lied, or gossipped, but because they have given their lives over to the Lord, and they will be persecuted for his names sake. Ask God to show you the difference between someone being persecuted for his names sake, and someone being lied on, and talked about because they have lied, and spread gossip themselves, God will show you!
Proverbs 19:9 This one confirms the others. Tell a lie and be punished! Then it says "and he that speaketh lies shall perish" it don't say may perish, or might be in trouble, NO, it says "shall perish", therefore I suggest you speak no lies, and if you hear something that you don't know to be true, and it is a lie, then you speak it, guess what?? YES, you have lied and you shall perish, God said, all liars shall have their place in the lake of fire. I didn't write the bible, but I believe every word of it, so I guess what God was saying here was: "Lie and Die"! The die speaks of eternal damnation, not a physical death for lying here on earth!
Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. this is simple!! Gossip about no one, tell no lies about no one, if someone tries to tell you something bad about someone else, be polite and tell them you really don't want to hear any gossip about anyone, if it hurts their feelings so be it, they need to understand that not everyone wants to hear depressing news about other people. If enough of us started saying we didn't want to hear any gossip, then maybe the gossip in our churches would decrease, and with prayer it could stop!! So if you want to keep your soul from trouble, keep your mouth closed!