All right - here is the official Word spanking of the day. Get ready and brace your bums 'cause Solomon is about to go to meddling and well he needs to!!
He begins with the reminder that we are all sinners. "Indeed there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins." Paul tells us the same thing "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Truly there are no perfect people.
That is an important caveat as we wait for the "whooping" that is coming. It is crucial that we realize that "those whom we deal with are not incarnate angels but sinful sons and daughters of Adam." We are all imperfectly in this life together. We all blow it. We all sin and sin severely. Let it sink in - believe it to be true about others and know it to be true about yourself!
OK -with that said, here it comes...
Solomon goes on to talk about the things we say about one another. He tells us to not take seriously every word we hear about ourselves and to remember how often our own lips have been unlovingly loose and rashly ridiculous.
Matthew Henry puts it like this:
"If we be truly angry with ourselves, as we ought to be, for backbiting and censuring others, we shall be the less angry with others for backbiting and censuring us."
Friends, let us show patient mercy towards one another. Let us be quick to allow love to cover a multitude of sins. Let us forgive as we have been forgiven. And let us always be mindful of our own shortcomings before pouncing on someone elses.
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