I love candy. I was born in Hershey. How can you be born in Hershey and not love candy?!? I know the difference between good candy and bad candy. I know the nasty taste of cheap candy. I remember when candy would be passed around in school or during a holiday and it wasn’t something very familiar. Sometimes it was bought at a bargain store; sometimes it was on sale because it was out-of-date. Either way, the candy was disgusting. It made me sick.
Today’s passage speaks of gossip—listening to gossip. “Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy” – YUCK!!! “Do you really want junk like that in your belly?” Well, do you?
Gossip is horrible. It is not good to be the spreader of the gossip. It is not good to be on the receiving end either. It is certainly hard to get the gossiper to stop talking or to change topic. I know I have a problem with this because I don’t want to be rude. The best thing I have been able to do is to change the subject. I cannot always do it, but I try. You have to let the gossiper know you don’t want to hear that stuff. Truthfully you don’t want to hear that stuff. It is junk in your belly. Plus it might get the gossip to realize his or her bad actions. Remember that whether you are the gossip, or the hearer of the gossip, both bring about trouble. You don’t need the cheap candy to sicken your stomach. Change the topic. Walk away. Tell them you don’t want to gossip. Do whatever you need to do to keep the words from entering your ears.
“Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you really want junk like that in your belly?”
– Proverbs 18:8 [MSG]
Tania Gutekunst 