Gossip for Lunch – Proverbs 26:22

Wake Up Call

Did you ever wonder what people say behind your back when you aren’t present? I used to frequent a downtown cafeteria style restaurant in my old business days. There was a group of retired gentlemen who nearly always met up at a certain table each day; apparently a tradition that had been going on for years.

If I was eating alone I often enjoyed watching and listening to them noisily debate current events and catch up with each other. They seemed to have great camaraderie. When one would leave another would come sauntering into their loose knit lunch club until it was time for me to get back to work.

One particular day I was being pretty attentive to them when one man left. As soon as he was out of earshot they began to have him for lunch. Evidently he was not well liked, but from the way they acted when he was there no one would have known. I was so surprised. Did they always do that to whoever was not present?

I never looked upon the group the same way. And I got to thinking; did that ever happened to me after I left a group of friends? Worse still, had I ever been guilty of it myself ? Unfortunately, probably I had.

Gossip is a dainty morsel eaten with great relish. Pretty words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot” (Proverbs 26:22-23). We should pass on chances to chew up our friends. Gossip for lunch may sound like a tasty entree – unless of course, you are the one chosen as lunch!

 

0 Comments