Spiritual Warfare

The power of the evil words.

The proliferation of communication media in our day has made it temptingly easy to pass along gossip and slander. As Christians, we must resist this temptation. When we say something nasty about someone, we fail to heed God's command to act lovingly toward all people, and such actions cause deep hurts and destroy friendships, as these verses point out. The wise person chooses his or her words carefully, judging them by God's standards. In this way we can avoid many hurtful situations and preserve our friendships.
These verses show how a person's speech can affect a community. Notice the references to the city, neighbors, gossip (which involves networks of people) and the nation.
This brief section focuses on benevolence - the disposition to do good and show kindness to others. Again, all the comparisons are antithetical.


Proverbs 11
11 Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper,
but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

12 It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor;
a sensible person keeps quiet.

13 A gossip goes around telling secrets,
but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

14 Without wise leadership, a nation falls;
there is safety in having many advisers.

15 There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt;
it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

NLT
Proverbs 11