Proverbs 26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
There are ample situations which one can find for getting caught up in heated discussions. I see it everyday at work. Usually complaints about how the administration or bosses just do not understand the worker's plight. They are certainly inept, never do anything, and we could obviously do a better job than what they are!
How do we respond to those times when others around us complain and moan about others. Do we add wood to the fire and help in the bashing of a person who is not even there to defend themselves? Or, do we try removing sources of fuel by lifting the other person up.
Daughters, it is obviously dangerous to actually removing pieces of wood from a fire. Those logs are quite hot and you can end up getting burnt! So what is one to do? The least you can do is keep your own mouth shut. Where there are many words, sin is not absent (Prov10:19). But you can also help build others up, and in doing so you will snag the end of a burning comment, pull it out, and create a dying fire. Never help in kindling strife (vs 21). It will only add to the destruction of others and will cause the fire to get hotter to come back and burn you. God wants you to shine, but not because you were set on fire by hell itself (James 3:6). Use your tongue to build other up so the fires of other will die down.
~Dad
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