The doodlebug lives at the bottom of a little cone-shaped hole that he burrows in the sand. He gets down as low as possible so he’s always looking up at everything else. When the ant comes around and gets on the side of this carefully prepared cone, the doodlebug feels a few grains of sand slide down, which signals him that ‘food’ is up there. At that point he begins to throw dirt on his victim. What he’s trying to do is drag the ant down to his level. And that’s what we do when we gossip.
We throw dirt on others, hoping to bring them down to our level. It’s why Solomon warned: ‘The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.’ The ear craves gossip like a hungry stomach craves food. Solomon goes on to give this warning: ‘He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips’ (Proverbs 20:19 NKJV).
So, if you have gossipy lips or greedy ears, God says, ‘Don’t do it!’ Here’s something you may not have considered: while you can never be known and judged by what others say about you, you can be known and judged by what you say about them. In most cases it’s illegal to steal or receive stolen goods. That’s why the apostle Paul admonished, ‘Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses’ (1 Timothy 5:19 NKJV). And one more thought: a gossip must always have an accomplice to commit the crime. So, the word for you today is: don’t receive or repeat gossip.
Bible in a Year: Numbers 11-12, Mark 5:21-43
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