Proverbs 18:7-8 

⁷The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives. ⁸The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

Finger Licking Good Chicken

         Trivia: The slogan, “It’s finger lickin’ good chicken!” Which restaurant used it? KFC? Do you use your own fingers to hold onto and eat fried chicken while eating in public? Do you also lick on your fingers to savor the sauce of fried chicken? Is it acceptable to lick fingers in public?

         Licking fingers after eating fried chicken practically suggests that the food is really tasty delicious. You just don’t want to waste even the sauce. The food we eat becomes part of our life. Food nourishes us to be stronger. But we have to be careful about food that are not helpful for health.

         Similarly, we have to be watchful of spiritual foods we may entertain. It can be amusing to engage in religious discussion. It may help strengthen our faith. There are spiritually helpful religious ideas but not all of them.

         Reflect on Acts 15:1-2, ¹Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 

         Some people from Judea were eager to teach new believers in Antioch. It was undeniably misleading. It caused sharp dispute and debate. So, they sought decision from the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. After discussion, they wrote a letter of their decision to Antioch in Acts 15:30-32.

³⁰So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³²Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

         There will always be someone out there who may eagerly confuse our beliefs. It happened in the first century, it happens in any generation. If someone teaches confusing ideas that are not aligned with our doctrines, write a letter to our church leaders. Our church doctrinal beliefs are stated in our church Constitution and By-laws. Read it to have basis for complaint.

         It’s great to have passion in teaching religious lessons that may help us prioritize the Lord more devotedly. But to promote ideas with no biblical basis can lead to sharp argument which may expose words of the fools.

1.  Words of Fools

      ⁷The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

         Sometimes, to be favored by authorities can be beneficial. But to try to win their favor could be foolish if you have no essential ideas what they require. Good authorities despise bribery and anyone may try to win their favor by illegal means. Let’s learn from the narrative when an Amalekite man came eagerly informed David that King Saul and Jonathan were dead.

         The Amalekite man testified and told David in 2 Samuel 1:6-10,

         ⁶I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. ⁷He called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’ ⁸“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “‘An Amalekite,’ I answered. ⁹“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’ ¹⁰“So I stood beside him and killed him. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

         David and his men were resting after a battle with Amalekites raiders. The Amalekites raided and took hostage of the families of David and his men. David and his men pursued and defeated the raiders. Then, an Amalekite man told David that he killed King Saul. The man had no idea that at that moment, David was angry against the Amalekites. David asked the Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1:14-15, ¹⁴“Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.

         The young Amalekite might have heard that King Saul tried to kill David. He might have imagined that David will eventually become king of Israel. He tried to impress David and waited for reward, perhaps. His words and selfish intentions were foolishness that caused his own death.

         Selfishness can influence foolish decision making. It may cause the foolish to sin. We trust that the Lord took our iniquities including foolishness and crucified them with Christ. Christ Jesus is wisdom of God. By faith, we accepted Jesus in our heart. So, we’ve got wisdom from God. But how can the wisdom of God in us be activated. When we follow his instruction.

         The Holy Spirit inspires us to obey him, and the wisdom of God in us is activated and applied for our benefit. To trust that Christ reconciled us to God, that’s smart. And so, we behave in righteousness. 1 Peter 3:12 says,

¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

         Nobody can win against God. So, it’s foolish to resist the Lord. The fool Amalekite tried to impress David and caused his death. Our words should testify of the goodness of God we experienced. We should avoid foolish words come out of our mouth. Gossip may confuse others.

2.  Words of Gossip

      ⁸The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

         Choice morsels can be little bites of tasty food. One may cherish and do not want to waste it. Have you eaten something you savor and relish, and you’d like others to taste also? Someone ask me what food would I like to taste again if I return to Hawaii. I would say, it’s the soft Malasadas!

         Originally, Malasadas are Portuguese-style fried doughnuts. The soft texture of Malasadas made me remember and want to taste again if I have a chance. Tasty food we eat and relish every bite, go down to the inmost chamber of our body. It either nourishes us or negatively affects our health.

         And like choice foods we eat, gossips may affect us somehow. The term gossip is also translated as criticism, grumble or slander. It is rebellion similar to the rebellion of Israel against the Lord in Deuteronomy 1:2-28.

         ²⁷You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”

         Gossip is similar to the rebellion of Israel against God. Do you agree that gossip is also unbelief in God? Gossip spreads rumors and slander others just to win favor from listeners. It is not favorable to gossip because it won’t increase faith in God. Instead, gossip reveals the absence of trust that God would do something favorable. Can you internalize that reality?

         Remember Matthew 7:12, ¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

         Did you hear it said, “He tasted his own medicine.” We will surely taste the way we treat others. The Lord instructed it, and it would happen. Therefore, what we want others do to us is what we should do. We want others to be good to us and speak great things about us, that should be what we always remember: to be good to others. We want others to pray for us regularly, we should be praying for them as well regularly. Amen!

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