Bulletin 07.16.23

Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.

• – The Temple Guards explaining why they did not arrest Jesus of Nazareth (The Gospel According to Saint John; CH 7, v. 46)

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Compliments make me vain: & when I am vain, I am insolent & overbearing. It is a pity, too, because I love compliments. I love them even when they are not so. My child, I can live on a good compliment two weeks with nothing else to eat.

• - Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Letter to Gertrude Natkin, (March 2, 1906)

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On the flip side, "negative gossip has self-promotion value, because it provides individuals with social comparison information that justifies self-promoting judgments, which results in feelings of pride. Contrary to lay perceptions," the researchers assert, "most negative gossip is not intended to hurt the target, but to please the gossiper and receiver."

In addition, the results "showed that negative gossip elicited self-protection concerns," the researchers write. "Negative gossip makes people concerned that their reputations may be at risk, as they may personally become targets of negative gossip in the future, which generates fear."

• – Tom Jacobs, “Why We Gossip: It's Really All About Ourselves” (Pacific Standard, Updated: June, 14, 2017)

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B= Boasting is out
R= Restraint is in
E= Eavesdropping is out (no gossip)
A= Apt (i.e., fitting the need of the moment)
T= Thoughtful (not rash or erratic)
H= Honest

• – Bruce Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15. (2004; an acronym summarizing Proverbs’ teaching on speech: Gentle B.R.E.A.T.H.)

Second Samuel 22. 28-32

You save an afflicted people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.
For You are my lamp, O LORD;
And the LORD illumines my darkness.
For by You I can run upon a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the LORD is tested;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God, besides the LORD?