“The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.” (Proverbs 26:22, NASB 95)
I like to follow trends in journalism, especially sports journalism. It’s hard to find a journalistic discipline with more impressive action words than in sports writing.
However, I have to be careful. Many times, journalism, whether sports or otherwise, becomes nothing more than just a gossip column. That isn’t something a follower of Christ should embrace.
Why?
Our passage tells us. Let’s look at it more closely at the negative example of providing information.
Those whom Solomon references here are NOT necessarily liars.
On the contrary, these are people who sometimes use the truth to their advantage. They may lie occasionally, but they know that isn’t wise. If they lie too much, they may get caught. So they use the truth as a weapon. They are gossips who cause trouble.
How?
This person is a “whisperer” who uses the truth to stir people up. If they don’t get the outcome they want, they whisper behind someone’s back and use the reactions of unsuspecting people to do their dirty work and pressure the person they are manipulating into doing what they want.
In other words, they manipulate the truth without lying.
This is more dangerous than lying. We know that’s wrong. God makes it clear in His Word: “Do not lie.”
However, if we become a whisperer, we may find ourselves justifying sinful behavior. These whisperers many times are those who don’t like authority. They see themselves as “liberators of truth” by sharing things they ought not to. Since God is the one who places authority where He desires (Romans 13), this isn’t a godly response.
Their advice may seem legit, but the end result is very bad.
You see, the “whisperer” is someone whose “words” sound very pleasant and helpful. It’s like “dainty morsels,” or put in our modern vernacular, bites of dessert that seem to satisfy.
The information seems harmless enough. The whisperer may even sound like a “social justice advocate,” sticking it to “The Man.” We might gravitate toward that rebel mentality and engage in whispering ourselves.
The problem is, in the end, those words, whether we speak them or someone else does, “go down into the innermost parts of the body.” In other words, we may not think the gossip of the whisperer is harmful. However, it taints our soul with sinfulness that will eventually destroy our spiritual walk with Jesus.
Simply put, those “dainty morsels” of dessert we though were so good are actually poison that will kill our soul. We need to stay away from the “whisperer” and reject the idea that being a “whisperer” is okay.
So What?
In Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called those who wanted to follow Him to be “peacemakers.” That means if we want to glorify Christ, we can’t be part of the whisperer’s plot. We must remain aloof to those tendencies.
If we want to be real Christians, we must listen to the advice of another of God’s servants, the Apostle Paul:
“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:6, NASB 95)
If we are to treat others the way God wants us to, we must avoid the “whisperer” and follow Christ. Let’s walk in obedience to our Lord.
Journeys of a Former Firebrand 
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