Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body. Proverbs 26:20-22
We “Think We Know” But Do We Truly Know?
I have been a Tale-Bearer, you have been a Tale-Bearer, we all have been a Tale-Bearer at one time in our lives. We all have a human condition and we are easily swayed by thoughts, things we “think we know” but truly don’t know. These “things” these thoughts of “knowing” have specific definitions. They are defined as: Assumptions, Speculations, Presuppositions. These are things we “think we know” and when things we “think we know” are spoken as if they were truth, and acted out upon, this creates strife, enmity between us and God and us and others. Strife is the enemies playground and the atmosphere when strife is in play, is confusion. Where there is confusion, the enemy is always playing with us, tricking us, and wanting to use us to stir up his favorite thing, strife between us and our God.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. Genesis 2:15-17 But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, [II Cor. 11:3.] For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. Genesis 3:4-6
The First Tale-Bearer
The truth is, Eve knew what was right, God had spoken it clearly to her. Eve was lied to by the enemy who put deceptive thoughts in her head, she “saw” and she listened to the serpent and made her own assumption, which was not truth, because God had told her the truth and asked her to obey Him. But she went by what she saw on the surface, and by the enticing of the enemy of her soul. Her decision created strife in her relationship with God and eventually emnity between her and God. Eve was the first Tale-Bearer as she shared her assumption with Adam and they drifted away from truth and sinned against God.
Dishonest business practice is something that Yahweh truly hates. But it pleases him when we apply the right standards of measurement. When you act with presumption, convinced that you’re right, don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face! But humility leads to wisdom. Integrity will lead you to success, but treachery will destroy your dreams. Proverbs 11:1-3
Conditions Ripe For Enmity With God
The enemy spoke untruth to Eve, deceiving her as she looked at her situation, speculating on what the enemy said, and she formed an opinion and she spoke out untruth to Adam. A Tale-Bearer spoke what she was thinking that she assumed and thought she knew best. This caused confusion, shame, strife all of which the enemy loves to stir up between us and God, and us and others. Then it escalated into Be Lame. Not taking responsibility, we became Lame. With Adam, was the birth of our lame human condition. It was sad to see how the enemy used a Tale-Bearer, as he still does today to keep us lame, to keep us in strife and far away from a perfectly peaceful soul.
And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me–she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? Gen. 3:11-13
We All Have Some “Adam and Eve” In Us
We all have some Eve in us, we are easily enticed by the enemy of our soul, who loves to steal our peace and keep us in confusion, strife, and lame. We “see” things and we follow our thought pattern about what we have seen and experienced and then we form our own opinion. We drift away from God’s truth and we “think we know” better! Out of this prideful positioning of our human condition, we form assumptions, speculations, and presuppositions, and when we speak these as opinions, as if we know them as truth, then we, like Eve, become a Tale-Bearer. We think we know, but we truly don’t know. This pattern of deception is so easy to fall into and it becomes our second nature as a human being, to live our lives outside of the truth, as we speak and act out of what we “think we know”. God wants us to walk in the fullness of truth of Jesus, and be led by the discernment of His Holy Spirit, because this is our best life, where we can’t be shamed or lamed by the enemy of our soul.
And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life. Genesis 3:17
“The most dangerous thing about the untruth of an assumption, speculation or presupposition is the forming of an opinion on this kind of unstable ground, because it will eventually cause us to stumble and fall, and to drift away from God, as it changes our godly nature from humility to pride.” Kimberly Mac
There’s only one thing worse than a fool, and that’s the smug, conceited man always in love with his own opinions. Proverbs 26:12
Do You Want A Peaceful Life? A Choice Is Clear!
When our human condition is in play, we can see the purposes of the enemies lies as we speak out as a Tale-Bearer, taking our assumptions, speculations and presuppositions as if they are truth, we form opinions, and we speak untruth, and act unwisely out of deception. Deception has a way forward and that way is strife and confusion. If we want peace in our life, this is what God wants to change up in us, so we are not used by the enemy of our soul to spread gossip, strife and untruth. We need to renew our commitment to be people of wholly-holy truth, people who have a strong inner spiritual core supported by the purity of righteousness, as we say no to our assumptions and lay down our opinions and choose humility over human pride.
It takes fuel to have a fire— a fire dies down when you run out of fuel. So quarrels disappear when the gossip ends. Add fuel to the fire and the blaze goes on. So add an argumentative man to the mix, and you’ll keep strife alive. Gossip is so delicious, and how we love to swallow it! For slander is easily absorbed into our innermost being. Proverbs 26:20-22
Are You Guarding Your Inner Spiritual Core?
Proverbs 26:22 “Absorbed into our inner most being”, did you clearly hear that warning? This is where our inner spiritual core is and deception weakens us, where truth strengthens us from the inside out. This is why the enemy deceives us with thoughts about what we see and experience. It is dangerous for us, the assumptions, speculations, presuppositions that we entertain in our mind and act out pridefully. Deceived by the enemy, we push forward our opinions as if they are truth, this is what causes us to be a Tale-Bearer. We need to change this up and it begins with believing only what is wholly-holy true, and speaking and acting out of only truth.
Avoid dishonest speech and pretentious words. Be free from using perverse words no matter what! Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions . Watch where you’re going! Stick to the path of truth, and the road will be safe and smooth before you. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked for even a moment or take the detour that leads to darkness. Proverbs 4:24-27
How Easy It Is To Walk The Broad Path
We can cut off the strife in our lives by saying no to the thoughts of assumptions, speculations and presuppositions and yes to being a person of truth, dealing truly and living truly and not stepping out on the shaky ground of untruth, on what we “think we know”! It is easy to be a Tale-Bearer, walking on the broad path of life, but we, Christian are called to live and walk on the narrow path of life, not the broad path of assumption, speculation and presupposition, but by narrow truth. Let it be so in us, let’s make a commitment to being people of wholly-holy truth, speaking and walking in the fullness of truth. Is there confusion and strife all around you? Then there is a Tale-Bearer in your life path and quite possibly it is you or me as we need to guard our heart and walk in the fullness of truth.
Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being. So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:
Thank you for stopping into the Bridegroom’s Cafe today to nourish your soul. Jesus, The Bridegroom is always here, speaking truth and encouraging everyone! We hope the Spiritual Meal on the “Think On It Table” has thoroughly spiritually nourished you. Please, we ask that you stop and take a moment to share this Spiritual Meal with someone else on your Social Media platforms and that you also subscribe to this Website, The Bridegroom’s Cafe so you never miss a spiritual meal served here. God bless ya. KimberlyMac