Proverbs 17:9
He who conceals a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.
Proverbs 17:9 (ESV Strong's)
9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Have you ever been approached with a "Did you know ..." or "Did you hear ..." comment? There are people who begin ever meeting or conversation with that phrase (in life we often call them journalist ... they believe their job is to tell others what happened with others ... we have other names for them, but let's stick with professional terms). When Elisha was going to be given the same spirit as Elijah in 2 Kings 2 we read about the "sons of the prophets" who came to him with a "Did you hear ..." line. He told them, politely, to "be still" (in the Hebrew the word means "Chill out guys"). In this proverb Solomon is speaking to these type of people who have nothing better than to repeat a matter. People love to repeat what they have heard and not seen or experienced. They repeat it and, as Solomon states, it separates good friends. Too many times we don't heed this warning. If we "conceal" a matter it is often seen or characterised as not being "transparent." Another Hebrew word here ... Hogwash! Solomon tells us that love seeks to conceal. See Proverbs 10:12; James 5:20 and 1 Peter 4:8 for further support of Solomon's claim. It is easy to repeat a matter. It is easy to relay what you don't know ... profound as that statement may be. Like runners on a track relay team we hand the baton of false statements from one to another hoping to get to the finish line. In reality we just run around the track of falsehood, destroying relationships as we go. Transparency is not repeating everything you know and making it available to all you know. Transparency is seeking purity by covering sin with God's love.
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