Proverbs 20.19
“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.”
A person who slanders is someone who takes private information (whether it’s true or false) and makes that information public in order to embarrass people. Sadly, there is much slander going on in our society, especially with the proliferation of social media. Proverbs tells us to stay away from people who slander … and that includes ignoring them on social media.
Slanderers want to sow division and discord. They want to be disruptive; they want to do damage to people and groups. That is their goal. They do not want to build up; they want to tear down. Proverbs tells us to avoid these people at all costs. Do not engage with them. Do not listen to them. Have nothing to do with them. Several Proverbs speak directly to this:
“Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9.7-8)
“Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.” (Proverbs 22.9)
A scorner (or scoffer) is engaged in a deep level of foolishness. The longer we interact with scoffers, the more unsettled and disquieted our hearts will be. The spiritual and emotional stress of those fruitless encounters takes a toll on us.
If you recall, I commented on this when we looked at Proverbs 10.8: ““The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” Today we are living in a culture of babbling fools. Our society is suffering from a dreadful lack of verbal restraint. You hear it everywhere. Social media, texts, emails, company gossip, rumors around town, conversations in restaurants and coffee shops, etc..
Social media isn’t the culprit, but it most certainly is a platform and breeding ground for mindless rants. Blaming social media is like blaming the instrument because of a bad musician. The reason social media has become a reckless and chaotic free-for-all because of the way people use it. They lack the restraint to engage with others in a respectful and reasonable way.
The directive of scripture is clear: Don’t be a babbling fool, and stay away from babbling fools.
More on this topic next Monday …
