extinguishing gossip: One Year Bible Reading for October 29

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Lamentations 1:1-2:22
Philemon 1:1-25
Psalm 101:1-8
Proverbs 26:20 

Let's look at the proverb. It's very simple, and very profound. Without wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

Gossip is so easy to fall into. When you hear that the girl down the street had an illicit relationship, or you hear that the guy at work got fired for looking at porn on his computer, or you tell someone that that new man in town killed someone and that's why he moved here... you are almost certainly sinning more seriously than the person you're talking about. Sexual sin, according to the church and according to Dante, is the least of the seven deadly sins. On the other hand, gossip can destroy the life of the person you're talking about. AND it leads to pride in YOUR life, which is the WORST of the seven deadly sins.

So avoid gossip. Don't spread it. Don't listen to it. Extinguish it.

God, thanks for teaching us to put out the fire of gossip before it burns everyone.