October 2025 - Take the Gold

"Speech is silver, but silence is golden." (Thomas Carlyle)

"And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." (1Timothy 5:13-14)

Gossip: A person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. While talking to my sister she said something that really stuck with me: "It's so easy to think that you are just repeating something because you are telling family, but you have to remember: our family is our community." If you wish to use your tongue for good, you are going to have to start asking yourself some questions before you speak. Protect your community from both inside and out.

1. Am I sharing something personal that is not mine to share? It's so easy to tell a story without even thinking about the details you are sharing. We all have had a time when we heard a story about us that was going around and it's wasn't even accurate. So many problems and hurts could be avoided if we each took more care when sharing info about others. Be a dead end. If the info reaches you, let it die with you. Learn to shut-up.

2. Am I looking for a reaction? "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" (James 3:5) So often in our effort to be the cool one, the one who gets a laugh out of the group, we throw someone else under the bus. Our "did you hear..." stories, stir up a world of emotions that could so easily have been avoided by sticking to the truth and seeking to be kind. 

So think about it, am I talking just to fill the silence? Often our problem is that we haven't put in the work to be able to talk about something worthwhile. We rely on the easy conversations that cause hurt, rather than putting in the work that will allow us to converse in an educated manner with those we come into contact with. Change will come through two avenues: remove the sensational and personal, and work on adding to your bases of knowledge. Read. Study. Learn. Be the change. "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction." Proverbs 13:3