Hi Faith Family,
Praying you are well and happy today,
At our home, we have a outdoor fireplace, a “chimnea,” if you will. It looks something like this:
We like to sit out back on the patio and relax, our kids enjoy reading books by the light of tiki torches. You should come by and enjoy a fire with us sometime, if you haven’t already.
You would be able to guess the process—it’s quite simple, really. First, I grab a handful of the used Idaho Statesman newspaper (excellent fire-starter), then I grab a box of matches, and finally head out to the garage for the firewood. This summer and fall we have had some interesting firewood. Among the rather unorthodox pieces of wood, we burned 1) pieces of a decades old wooden ladder, shattered by our 71 year old neighbor who broke and subsequently fell off said ladder. (Don’t worry, he’s fine aside from some bumps and bruises—he was back up on his roof the next day); 2) wood from a member’s trees we helped to cut down this past summer with such thorns it would make rose plants jealous; and 3) cut up lumber from our old couch, finally replaced a few months ago. We even found a manufacture date on the ol’e sofa: 1987! It was a very good year for couches, I’m led to believe.
It all burned wonderfully well. Couch piece—ladder shard—spiky branches all burned up great. Standing at the kitchen sink, turning off the light before heading off to bed, I can often see the burning coals in the chimnea. The burning coals give witness to the once hot fire. But the coals quickly begin to ash and cool. The fire goes out.
Did you know this is an spiritual illustration, inspired from above? It may not be what you think. Check out Proverbs 26:20 . . .
“Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down.”
Ouch! That burns a bit, doesn’t it? The guilt, I mean. How true this wisdom is, yet how convicting as well. Who of us hasn’t been embarrassed how easily and quickly we speak about others behind their backs. Keeping with the above illustration, how often haven’t we piled on stick after stick—log after log of gossip, stirring up the fires of hostility! What kind of a smoldering ash pile have you and I left behind when talking badly about others? James makes us think about how we use our mouths to sing praise to God one minute, then cut someone down the next—his encouragement: brothers and sisters, this should not be.
We first take the charred inky sins we have committed to our Savior in confession. “I am sorry, Lord. Please forgive me.”
What a comfort that Jesus endured the punishment for all your sinful gossip and mine as well. Think also on the fact that Jesus never gave into that tempting sin of gossip! That perfection is yours through faith in Jesus!
And now your loving Savior empowers you and sets you free to refrain from stoking the fire of gossip. Take a stand, dear faith family, take a stand with God’s power to stop feeding the fire. Let the sinful gossip die out among us. God will be with you as you strive to do his will in what you say (and don’t say). God bless you as you pray for this, his will, be done in your life!
Blessings on your weekend!