Proverbs 26:17-22 Fight’n Words
We look at different ways of using words to get into trouble. Many of the fight’n words can be avoided by simply minding your own business.
Words matter and so do intentions. The words being talked about today are the ones with intended meddling, cruel jesting, or malicious gossip. All these words should have been shut up and cast out of the mind. Most of them come from those who like to quarrel or cause mischief. And they hurt those who they are aimed at.
The first set of circumstances identified is messing about in someone else’s quarrels. This doesn’t apply to someone that the parties have agreed to seek mediation from. They point directly to someone who has no stake in the matter but still ‘can’t help’ but get involved.
Some of the ‘quarrels’ might be between husband and wife. Some between debtor and lender. Some between brothers. The list goes on forever. One thing that doesn’t go on forever is who is involved. With most quarrels there are a distinct number of people involved. Those that the quarrel doesn’t affect need to stay out of it.
Today I received a “class action notification” regarding my car. There was found to be a defect in the antilock braking system. They identified EVERYONE who owned the years covered by the defect and sent out notices. We had the recall notice and took our car in for service when it was first discovered. That was our only inconvenience with this issue, yet we were invited to help sue the company for “selling or leasing vehicles with this defect.” First of all, the company wouldn’t have continued to use this system if the KNEW there was a problem. Once it was identified, they committed to resolve it and to pay damages for those the issue effected.
This nation is sue happy and all it takes is a few individuals to pressure others to join in a fight. Some fights are warranted and necessary. But others are putting inserting themselves into places where they didn’t need to be. Needless to say, we are NOT joining the lawsuit. We have no damages to recoup and believe the company acted in good faith. And I’ll mind my own business and NOT pass judgment on those who do join in. Their business is their own.
The second example of fight’n words reminds me of an episode of an old television program I watched with my husband just yesterday. The show’s title is Have Gun Will Travel. In this episode there was a town prankster who made it his life’s mission to play jokes on people. We met him at a water trough with a sign above it that said it was poison. Our main character saw him in need of water and tried to find good water for him. The man then dunked his head in the trough and began drinking. Thinking the man would die, he rushed to the town doctor. While he was still seeking help, the man got up, took down the sign and walked away laughing.
The doctor reported that the man routinely rousted him out of bed to send him out to help someone only to find the person wasn’t in need at all. “It was just a joke.” So one day, the doctor refused to go and someone died as a result. But, hey, it was just a joke!
Jokes at the expense of others ARE NOT JOKES. They are cruel and mean. Our prankster had the tables turned on him in the end and it wasn’t so funny then. That is my hope for ALL who behave in this way! And the worst part about a ‘practical joker’ is you can never tell when he is telling the truth. This leads to tragedy on more occasions than can be named.
The last three verses work together. Someone who likes to quarrel never seems to get his fill of spreading gossip (whispers) or listening to those floating around him. He LOVES them and can’t wait to put them to use. Some people who crave the rumors don’t even think about the harm they are doing. They see themselves as ‘doing a public service’ by warning others about …. Their day isn’t complete unless they have ‘shared’ some piece of damaging information about someone else. They often may resort to making up or exaggerating accounts to make themselves appear more important.
This kind of person is poisonous! Stay as FAR away as possible. Believe NOTHING they say. Even if he tells you the sky is blue, check it out for yourself. But for his ‘whispered accounts’, avoid even entertaining them. If you do find yourself in his audience, if it doesn’t concern you directly, STAY OUT OF IT. If it does, eliminate him and seek those that are involved with you in it. Go to the source without ANY assumptions. Do NOT let his whispers find a place in your heart.
Father God, for all those I’m helping or involved with, keep me from poking my nose where it doesn’t belong. Keep me within healthy boundaries. Don’t let ANY ‘whispers’ pass my lips or find a place to rest in my heart. Keep me from being used as a tool to inflict pain out of malice. The things I do, let them result in healing instead of hurting.
Thank You Father for Your loving me! Remind me of this lesson about my ‘nose’ when appropriate. Help my children as they have to ‘stick their noses’ into their father’s business. We all need Your guidance, wisdom, and favor during this season of wrapping up his affairs. Watch over their hearts, and mine too. Let NO root of bitterness grow or remain.
