Potstirrer or Peacemaker?

“An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.” (Prov. 16:27-28)

                Some people like to stir the pot, while others prefer to keep the peace.  Why would someone want to keep things stirred up?  I’m sure there are a variety of reasons.  Sometimes people want to give the impression that they’ve got the inside scoop.  Sometimes they want to intentionally inflict damage on someone they’re at odds with.  How do they do it?  Solomon tells us “an ungodly man digs up evil.”  Some people take joy in trying to dig up and dish out the dirt on others.

                The evil that a pot-stirrer digs up “is on his lips like a burning fire.”  In other words, the gossip is so hot that they can’t keep it to themselves.  Contrast this with the fire that was shut up inside the bones of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 20:9).  Jeremiah’s words were hot because they came from God and he could not keep from sharing them.  In the case of a gossip, their words are motivated by the Devil and the fire they spread doesn’t help anyone draw closer to Christ.  They actually destroy lives.

                Furthermore, a pot-stirrer “sows strife”- so much that he even “separates the best of friends.”  A gossip doesn’t care about who he hurts or what he destroys.  On the other hand, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9).  A peacemaker is someone who attempts to put out the fires started by others.  As you live your life, you have a choice – you can be like the perverse man who digs up evil and spreads strife, or you can be the person who speaks life and causes strife to cease.  Be a peacemaker!