Proverbs Chapter 26

Proverbs 26:20-21 (ESV) "For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife."

I recently went camping with some of my children. One of the most fun things about camping for us is sitting around the campfire. We gathered around it to eat our meals, read books and tell stories. We roasted our hotdogs in it and toasted the ever-enjoyable marshmallows. A campfire is a useful and necessary part of camping. Of course, the fire is only useful as long as someone keeps placing new sticks and logs on it. When left unattended for even a little while it will quickly burn up all the wood and leave nothing but ashes. Then more kindling and a lot of matches are required to get the campfire blazing once again. One thing that never ceases to amaze me about the campfire is the amount of wood it will consume. Gathering wood and feeding the hungry fire are an ongoing part of the camping experience.

The Scriptural analogy here is obvious. These verses tell us that like our campfire will die when it is not fed with more wood, so strife will die out when the whisperer stops whispering. The common word for whisperer is gossip. Jokes are often told about some old busybody in a church who gossips. We laugh and make fun. But how many times do we engage in this practice ourselves? We disguise it by putting a glaze of "holiness" on it. We say things like "Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but we need to pray for so-and-so. He is having some trouble with ........." or "This is not a rumor, it is an absolute fact!" I can assure you there is nothing holy, good, or useful about gossip. It is vicious and hurtful.

The Scriptures here mention the one who gossips, but it is equally important to point out the role of the one who listens to the gossip. Both are equally at fault for keeping the fire going. Without a hearer, the gossiper has no place to spread the rumor or "prayer request". There is no fuel for the fire and it simply dies out.

When we are camping we try to make the evening campfire as hot as we can. We bank the coals and larger logs before going to bed. Then when we wake up in the morning, there is enough heat left in the coal bed to make starting the morning fire easier. Just add some small kindling, let it dry and get hot from the coals, add a match or two with a little lighter fluid and the fire is soon blazing again. Gossip in and of itself is bad enough, but when a truly quarrelsome person gets involved in the fire, the destructive affects are multiplied exponentially. This is the person who can’t "let go" of the offense caused by the hurtful gossip. He (or she) simmers and stews in the hurt. He banks the coals and keeps them in his heart. Words of forgiveness may have even been spoken, but the heart clings to the burning embers of the fire. It takes very little at this point to get the flame of strife burning again. With the smallest of offenses it can burst into flame once again and the fight is on. Once this starts, it is a difficult cycle to break.

The best solution is to reject gossip for what it truly is. In Romans 1:28-31, Paul lists it in the same sentence as murderers, fornicators and haters of God. Let’s call it like it is. Gossip it sin! It should be rejected and avoided like the proverbial plague. When rumors start flying, we should let the fire die out by refusing to be a part of the rumor mill. May we never be part of starting or spreading the fire of gossip.