Wednesday 5 Feb 2020

February 5: 2 Timothy 2:14-19

Key Verse: 2 Timothy 2:16
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

Devotion:
I’m sure all of us can admit to gossip at one stage or another – I know there are some who will say they have not, but what I am talking about now is not the constant gossip like we see is some soaps on TV, but the telling of something which is not the truth just to get your own way. As a parent, I must say I was guilty of this quite a bit, telling my children to do something because of some made up reason. I believe this is also included in this portion of the letter to Timothy here.

We should not get into a huge argument over words or wording either because by doing so we are pushing our thoughts onto others and as we get more and more upset or heated up about the words, something comes out which may not be the whole truth! Yes, I am guilty of that one too!

Last week, during our staff meeting, we were talking about the way yeast spreads through dough until it engulfs the whole dough. Unless that yeast is checked, it will continue to spread into all dough it comes into contact with… just like the words of gossip we like to spread. It is amazing how quickly word can get around just by telling the right people who you know will go on to tell many others!

But imagine what will happen when the wrong word gets out and it starts spreading quicker than the truth. Just like the Coronavirus is spreading much further and faster than first expected (please do continue to pray for all people and families affected by this virus around the world) bad words can spread so much quicker and further than we want. I have seen far too many relationship break apart because something was said out of order, even though not true!

Points to Ponder:
Are you spreading gossip?

Or are you spreading the gospel?