2429) I have been asked a couple of times how I can write these minute devotions when I clearly need to hear the message too. The asking was not an attack but clarification.

I am not writing from the mountaintop; from the point of thinking I have it all together. In fact, many of these minutes are written for my own benefit. This minute is one of them.

Proverbs 16:28 tells us what we say can tear down, divide, and destroy. It reads, a dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. (ESV)

I am reminded that words are powerful and what we say creates damage or healing. If we choose to gossip about others, the result will be division. What’s divided?

If we speak derogatorily about others, it divides the group from the one spoken about. It also divides us from others because those who reflect on the conversation can realize that this same weapon can be used against them, too.

And most importantly, when we speak ill of others, it divides us from God. The God of mercy, grace, and love cannot be reflected in conversations such as these.

Speaking ill of others may be a pattern; something that happens without our realizing it. We can make a change when we reflect on conversations we have and realize we are divisively speaking about others. When realized we can disrupt this pattern and use our words to bring healing, and not division.