Prayer: We ask for wisdom in all our speaking, Lord, and in all our friendships. Thank You. Amen

Scripture: A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. Prov. 20:19 NIV

She had a reputation for being popular and fun, well spoken and intelligent. This all-around-the-school teacher always had a way of making you feel like her very best friend. She seemed to have the inside scoop, and she knew details of peoples’ lives and upcoming administrative pronouncements. She had a way of drawing you aside and making you feel that she was including you by telling you juicy secrets. She even dared to criticize our principal behind her back and then act like her best supporter in meetings. I prayed for discernment and good judgment when I found myself around her, for the Holy Spirit to alert me to what I said to her and what I did with what she told me.

Many people react to such a person by going to tell someone else what they’ve heard. As far as I know, the Lord kept me from doing that. What cancer that kind of gossip produces among co-workers. Besides keeping everything she said to myself, I knew that I could not share with her anything I knew that she hadn’t been privy to—even when she asked. As Christians, we must be careful not to slander others, even if we have private complaints about them. We must be circumspect because our enemy, the devil, roams about, seeking whom he may devour. We must not give him a place.

Copyright Shirley Wilson. To connect with the author, email swilson@christianeducators.org

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