The Destruction of a Gossiping Tongue

Tags

Destruction, Devestation, Gossip, Poem, Sin, Tongue

Woe is the destruction that comes
From a gossiping tongue

Like the devastation wrought
By an out of control wildfire

So too when the gossip’s tongue speaks
A match is lit and many will be burned

Like the person who rolls down the window
Carelessly tosses out a lit cigarette

It will ignite flames of fire
And quickly be driven by the wind

Nary is a thought given
To the damage that will ensue

Wounds inflicted
Burns and scars that may take a lifetime to heal

What pride and arrogance
When words of judgment and condemnation are spoken

The unbeliever hears and declares “hypocrite”
I don’t want to be like that Christian

It breeds mistrust, anger and bitterness
The wounded soul struggles to forgive

Souls for whom Christ died are hurt
The body is divided

God dishonored
Reproach brought upon the body of Christ

Remove the log from your own eye
Be broken over sin and seek forgiveness

Instead may you use your tongue
To praise and worship God, bring Him honor and glory

Now may you pray for the brethren
Speak words of encouragement, life and truth

Susan Wachtel
February 5, 2015

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Words of a Gossip

Words of a gossip
Go down with ease
Taste sweet to the hearer delighted to partake

Pride
Arrogance
Judgment abounds

Two or three gathered together
Words said in a whisper
Lest anyone else should overhear

Ugly heart
Ill intentions
Calculated and designed to raise themselves up

Beware to the one who listens
Soon you will be the topic of conversation
Your name will be bandied about in a whisper

Instead step away
Shut your mouth
Lock your ears

Know there is One who overhears it all
He knows the thoughts and intentions
Of our sinful, wicked hearts


By Susan Bunts Wachtel
June 3, 2010


Oh how I hate gossip and know its destructive force.  If find it amazing that people are so easily lured in to the conversation of a gossip.  Do they really think that the person with whom they are conversing won’t do the same thing to them at an opportune time?  If someone was gossiping about a loved one…how would they feel?  Angry, upset over the injustice and judgmental attitude from the ignorant, wicked heart?  There is nothing good about gossip! 

12 Who is the man who desires life,
         And loves many days, that he may see good?
 13 Keep your tongue from evil,
         And your lips from speaking deceit.
 14 Depart from evil and do good;
         Seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34: 12-14

  16 These six things the LORD hates,
      Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
       17 A proud look,
      A lying tongue,
      Hands that shed innocent blood,
       18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
      Feet that are swift in running to evil,
       19 A false witness who speaks lies,
      And one who sows discord among brethren.
Proverbs 6:16-19

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. – James 3:6-9

Gossip

The words of a gossip should never be trusted
Today they are tearing someone else down
Tomorrow in front of a different audience
You will be the topic of conversation
 
Words spoken in a whisper
Are seldom shared face to face
The person held in judgment
Is never there to offer a defense
 
In the heart of the one listening
There is a nudge
A twinge of their conscience
The knowledge that gossiping is wrong
 
However any objection
Or the courage to speak up is stilled
As the listening audience
Is invited to join in the sin
 

By Susan Bunts Wachtel
September 16, 2010

Lying in Wait

Gossip thinly disguised as a prayer request
Only serves to tear down and cause division

No one is exempt
From being the next victim

Leaders faithfully serving the body of Christ
Have decisions questioned at every turn

Those enduring trials and tribulation
Are a delicious topic of conversation for the gossiping tongue

Opinion and speculation
Pass for an intimate knowledge of the facts

Even the innocent bystander
May fall prey to the gossiping tongue

Gossips raise themselves up
By trampling on the reputation of another

The sin of gossip tears people down
Both the victim and the one with the uncontrolled tongue

Sometimes motivated by boredom
Gossip makes the perpetrator feel important

It gives the appearance of being “in the know”
Or the confidant of so many friends

Never is an opportunity lost to sully a reputation
Or call into question someone’s motives

Like an viper lying in wait
At an opportune moment…the gossip will strike with their venomous poison

Susan Bunts Wachtel
April 24, 2009

A Differnt Kind of Fire

There is a different kind of fire

Not visible to the human eye

Yet it causes incalculable damage

Like a wildfire

Consuming everything in its path

So too the tongue…causes widespread destruction

Be it the match of gossip

Or the flame of criticism

Its devastation leaves victims wounded and hurt

It may be a reputation that lies in the rubble

Of lies and deceit

Suffocating its victim like a poisonous gas

It may be talk about those in authority

Causing dissention…leaving the foundation weak and exposed

Unable to withstand the heat

There is one fire prevention

Proven and true

That is to bring our tongue under the obedience of Christ

He alone can slay the arsonist

Whose weapon of choice is the tongue

The intended victim…a vulnerable human soul

Susan Bunts Wachtel

November 18, 2008

It seems no one is immune from the human condition of gossip and a critical spirit. Be it an unbeliever…who doesn’t know or care about what God says in His word. Or a new believer who is immature and still weak and vulnerable in this area of sin. It can even be seen in believers of many years. Those who have extensive knowledge of the word of God. They have a head knowledge that hasn’t yet worked its way down to change their heart.

How easy it is to choose to gossip…or speak our mind and share a critical negative spirit. It’s much harder to go to the person and share our concern. To get on our knees and pray instead of sharing that delectable bit of truth that no one else knows about. To choose insignificance rather than raise myself up by stepping on the reputation of another. To believe all things, hope all things…and dwell on that which is good, lovely, pure and of a good report.

There is only one winner in the game. His name is Satan. Gossip and a critical spirit bring reproach upon the body of Christ. It tears down everyone…from the person who speaks out to the one who is the topic of conversation.

I think that when we get to heaven…there will be tears shed. Not only will we cry when we see the hurt and devastation that our words brought to other’s lives. But we will weep when we know the eternal cost. Those who chose to turn their back and reject Christ because of the ugliness they saw in Christians. It’s not something that we can change after the fact or make better. When those words escape our lips…the match has been lit.

It only takes one time…when you’ve been on the receiving end of gossip to help you understand how hurtful it is. To know that others are speaking ill of you…believing half truths and outright lies. Once you’ve been on the receiving end…you don’t want to be a contributor or participant.

How will we feel when we stand before Jesus…and have to give an account for every idle word? He’ll know the intentions of our heart. All will be exposed.

Isn’t it better that right now…today…that we choose to listen to the reining in of the Holy Spirit. To pay attention when He tugs at our conscious. It’s it better that our words be few. To utter that which builds up and encourages…or speak the truth of God’s word in humility and love.

“They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.”

Who will know you are a Christian by your love?

Dissention…Reporting for Duty

Here I am boss

Reporting for duty

Have I got a good report for you

The assignment you gave

I executed with ease

As I got those tongues wagging

That place which seeks to be a beacon on a hill

Reflecting the Light of the world

Instead grew a little dimmer today

I started with those who are idle

Who have the time to talk

In no time at all…the seed of gossip blossomed

The trick is

When they are talking about others

They don’t have time to read the word of God

When they are negative and brooding

Completely lacking the joy of the Lord

They are not taking every thought captive

When they spend time

Debating about which songs should be sung

They don’t have the time to worship their Lord

When they set aside the diligent study of the Bible

How can they hold it up

To examine themselves in light of God’s word

When the rest on their laurels

Feel comfortable in their accomplishments

They won’t desire a fresh work of God in their life

When they fail to trust and respect

The leaders whom God raised up

A negative critical spirit takes its place

When they attempt to love on their own power

They will be unable to bear all things, nor hope and believe

Their love will never endure on its own

Some I will lure into exhaustion

Through pressing needs, good works and few helping hands

It’s there I will stir up resentment

May they bow their knee to their Lord

But never their will

There they can rest in a false sense of piety

Oh hater of their soul

The fruits of our labor

Are plentiful and abundant

May they never see it

Or recognize the handwriting of our work

It’s there we can turn them against one another

Render ineffective their witness

When they are focused on one another

They won’t remember to take the gospel to the lost and dying world

by Susan Bunts

September 23, 2008

The Sanctified Tongue

Oh dear one,
Your testimony tells me,
You were saved,
Oh so many years ago.

But you cause me to wonder,
Has that salvation,
Worked it way,
To your tongue?

Gossip and slander,
So easily uttered,
About a fellow believer,
One considered a brother or sister in Christ.

Then tell me, please do,
What difference is there,
Between us and the unbeliever?
Dear Lord, what must they think?

Most certainly,
We are not perfect,
And will never be,
This side of eternity,

Yet, are we not washed,
In the same blood of the Lamb?
Did the nails not pierce His hands,
For your sin and mine?

We have been saved,
To the uttermost,
Through and through,
Dear Lord, now please sanctify our lips.

May our salvation,
Work its way,
From our heart to our tongue,
And now bring for praise for Christ Jesus our Lord.

by Susan Bunts
February 3, 2008