Turn Off the Flow

The 10/19 verse is from Proverbs 10:19, "Don't talk too much, for it fosters sin.  Be sensible and turn off the flow!"  NLT

What sage advice!  We've all heard the saying that God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason.  It goes back to the thought that we should listen more, and talk less.  How many of us can say that nothing bad ever comes out of our mouths, or that we never say the wrong thing?  I've often asked myself, "Did I really say that?"  It's never a good feeling when I have to do that.

Many of us are susceptible to the tongue trap.  We use it far too often.  We tear down others, we slander others, we gossip about others.  In short, we sin.  May I suggest that the tongue is just the instrument and the problem goes really much deeper?  When we don't recognize that gossip is a sin, it is either because we don't exercise knowledge, discipline and character, or we really don't care.  Many of us may think that it's not really the same kind of sin as those "other" sins.  We would be wrong.  Any kind of sin breaks God's heart.  I think gossip, particularly, saddens God because we indulge in it so frequently.  It's wilful disobedience and it's all too common.

With the technology advances we have these days, there are even more ways to gossip and slander.  People don't even have to open their mouths to gossip these days.  They can simply let their fingers do the talking.  The internet and email provides ample opportunity to say whatever anyone wants to say...unfortunately. 

So what are we going to do with this Proverb?  What are we going to do about our sin problem?  Maybe its time we turned off the flow.