Monday, June 20, 2022
Lord, in solidifying his relationship with You, the psalmist re-ordered his behaviors to reflect his changed life. One major change involved no longer listening to certain people. These were not necessarily bad people, just flawed by not heeding that 9th Commandment ‘false witness’ thing.
“Did you hear about …” they whispered in his ear. They blindly judged others without knowing their story. “Can you believe they would …” Their words ran down people. “Listen to this! I heard …” How they ‘killed’ their neighbors with their tongue! “I heard a juicy tidbit about …”
Gossip! One of the devil’s favorite pastimes he introduced mankind to. And how easily Christ-followers fall into this subtle habit too. Your Holy Spirit awakened the psalmist to his guilt in this destructive habit. He vowed to change. “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin,” he said in repentance. “I will put a muzzle on my mouth …” (Psalm 39:1). He got serious about shedding this sinful practice, realizing how gossip unjustly degraded people. No more spreading ‘false witness’ against others not able to defend themselves against ‘misinformation.’ “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors,” he declared, (Psalm 101:5).
Another truth became clear to the psalmist: gossips cannot be trusted. If they gossiped about others to him, what were they saying about the psalmist behind his back?
Lord, help me reject gossip when I hear it. And put a muzzle on my mouth when I’m tempted to repeat misinformation. Amen.
THANKFUL 
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