Back in the late 80's I was a member of a small church in southern New Hampshire. Our little church purchased a kid's camp located in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire. I remember that our church used to take Saturday trips to work on restoration of the old mountain church camp. On one particular weekend in an attempt to quickly be rid of an old outbuilding someone made the brilliant suggestion that we just burn down the old wooden structure. It seemed to be the best use of our time and energies, after all, it would save some time and back-breaking labor if we just burned it instead of taking it apart painstakingly.
We set it ablaze...and I mean BLAZE! That small, old out building suprised us...rather, the fire suprised us. It quickly became an inferno the flames of which licked toward the towering pines just out of reach.
We were definitely scared. We had every right to be...we had just very stupidly set fire to a structure that was now threatening a government protected / owned forest. Yeah, stupid?! Ya' think?
Thanks be to God that the flames died down before the trees set fire. The reason? The wood structure was consumed...there was no more wood to burn.
Gossip is much like this. Proverbs 26:20 tells us that "without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down."
So, in this proverbial picture, gossip is the wood that provides fuel for a relational blaze. If we add more fuel (gossip) to the fire the blaze gets hotter...the end result is great destruction.
James 3:5-6 tells us that "the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
The point of this post? A wish...rather, a prayer: "God, help my tongue to be under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. Instead of boasting...instead of gossipping...may my tongue be used to build up others and bless them...for Jesus' sake. Amen."
