“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.”
Psalm 34:13
The officer reminds you that you were at place X on day X with a few unnamed persons. He asks you if you recall. You nod in agreement that you do. He proceeds.
On this day, one of the persons whom you keep company with, is indeed known by most as a gossip. This person is the one who knows everyone’s secrets with and without their knowledge. There is no discretion code for this individual. And you have been okay with it, as long as your secrets are not the subject of discussion.
So on this day, this person shares some intimate details about victims B, C, and D. You never confirmed whether these statements were true or not. You simply assumed that the source of the story is reliable so you chose to believe it.
Later that day, you felt the need to share your opinions about the matter with another person, who then shared it with others.
The next day, victims B,C, and D were still a hot topic, so you did not hesitate to talk about what you heard with others.
Two weeks passed before you found out that several parts of the story you helped pass along about victims B,C, and D, were fabricated. Some parts were also half-truths.
But the damage was already done. Their characters and reputations had already been tarnished by lies, ones that you helped generate. Sure you did not start it. You did not start it when it happened to victim A either.
But you did not stop it, and you even gave life to the guile initiated by another. In this, you certainly helped fan the flame of the gossip and you bore false witness. Little did you know that the shame and condemnation that evoked from this matter weighed heavily on the hearts of the victims.
So here you were, a true believer, who would never say anything evil against anyone. You believed yourself to be a genuinely good person. But you did not know that your tongue could be so fatal. You did not know that the same lips you use to praise God in worship and prayer, was used to destroy his children.
You did not tame your tongue with the spirit. And now, you are in trouble for it.
If you had known how serious a few words added to a lie could be, and how much it could deter your own blessings, perhaps you would have kept your mouth closed. Perhaps you would have departed from the company of evil. Perhaps you would have prayed for the fallen rather than condemn their fall.
Awesome