Day 215

2 Chronicles 33:14–34:33; Romans 16:10-27; Psalm 26:1-12; Proverbs 20:19

IN 2 CHRONICLES TODAY, we read of the good and reforming king Josiah. When Josiah realized just how far his people had fallen away from God’s law, he pleaded for mercy. He tore his clothes in grief and fell before the Lord —but he didn’t give up or remain dejected in the Lord’s presence. He got up and worked diligently to wipe out Israel’s idolatry and bring his nation back into their story as the chosen people of God.

We, too, must realize the ways we have drifted away from our story. Serious change starts when we recognize what we’re allowing to happen to us and then change our minds (repent), thereby changing our ways.

We also concluded Paul’s letter to the Romans today —and what a journey it’s been. Paul clearly articulated —for Jew and Gentile alike —the Good News that Jesus came to redeem and restore the entire world, and that as believers, we each have a role to play in the story, no matter our ethnicity or upbringing. In his final benediction, Paul summed up the entire letter:

This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him.

Our reading from Proverbs today hits home on many levels: “A gossip goes around telling secrets,” we were told (Proverbs 20:19). If you’re the kind of person who hears a juicy morsel of personal or private information and then can’t wait to “share” it —making yourself look like you’re concerned, connected, and “in the know” —then you’re a gossip. I know that’s a pretty stark thing to say, and perhaps even a little offensive. But not as offensive as gossip. Gossip has the power to destroy relationships and communities more profoundly and completely than almost anything else in the world, which is why we are regularly counseled to completely avoid it throughout the Scriptures.

“So don’t hang around with chatterers,” the proverb concludes. It is not only the gossiper but also the one willing to listen to gossip who carries the burden —and we’re not to hang around in that environment.

We’ve probably all experienced the effects of gossip. And the simple question we must ask ourselves is whether anything good has ever come from it. Gossip is one of the primary things that drives us underground in fear that we cannot safely “confess [our] sins to each other and pray for each other so that [we] may be healed” (James 5:16).

If we are people who gossip or participate in gossip by listening to it, then we’re perpetuating a problem that is stifling growth within our communities. We may not realize this in the moment, but we should heed the voice of Wisdom and be part of the healing rather than part of the problem.

DECLARATION:

I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked. I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O LORD, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders.