Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 26:17-22
Prov 26:17-22
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. 18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” 20 For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. 21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. 22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
Eph 4:29-31
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
God made us to be like him, we were made in his image. Adam and Eve messed that up when they ate the fruit that they had been told to leave alone. One of the things that convinced Eve to do this was when the serpent spoke evil concerning God. It was a lie but Eve was convinced and so she ate the fruit. Most people tend to believe bad things about others quicker than the good things they hear. The “news” industry relies on this by focusing on bad things instead of good news.
As the children of God, we too often convince ourselves that gossip, backbiting, slander, and other things like these are not really wrong, so we engage in them, without regard for the results or consequences. Even if it is true but it will do harm to repeat it, it is our place to keep it to ourselves and not say it. We have been given our ability to speak so we can build up, encourage, and do good, but never to tear down or do harm to the reputation of another person.
The Christian is not to meddle in the affairs of another. We are told by Paul to “mind your own business”. It seems to come natural for some folks to try to fix everyone else’s problems without ever seeing their own. Jesus said we need to take the log out of our own eye before we try to remove the speck of sawdust from the eye of our brother. Focus on fixing our own problems.
O Lord God, help me see my own faults and focus on fixing them instead of only seeing what is wrong with others. Help me love them as you love me, and this will take care of itself. Thank you for being with me and giving me strength through your Spirit to do what is right. Thank you for our nation and for the freedoms that we enjoy, that so many in the world do not know. Guide our upcoming elections so that the outcome is what you want it to be. In Jesus’ name.
Robert
