Gossip, Gossip

So, as I have shared before, I try to read a chapter in Proverbs every day. Since Proverbs has 31 chapters, it is the perfect book to match each day of the month. I read the chapter that corresponds with that day's date. Yesterday, I was reading Proverbs 17 when I encountered verse 4:

"Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip;
liars pay close attention to slander."
(New Living Translation)

Why is this? Because we are attracted to the things that are already in our hearts. If our hearts are pure, seeking God, we are attracted to the things of God. If our hearts are self-centered and self-seeking, we are attracted to gossip because it matches the condition of our hearts.

If you want to know what is in a person's heart, listen to them talk.  Jesus explained:

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart." Matthew 15:18
(New American Standard Version)

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Matthew 12:34
(New American Standard Version)

In another Proverb, we are instructed to guard our hearts from deception because of what will inevitably flow out of them:

"Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put devious lips far from you.
Let your eyes look directly ahead,
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet,
And all your ways will be established."
Proverbs 4:23-26 (New American Standard Version)

--Posted by Mama O.