He who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and he who spreads slander is a fool.

Proverbs 10:18

There is a phrase in the corporate world: “In the weeds.” It typically means being overwhelmed or entangle in the day-to-day minute details of running a business. It applies to any industry, any business; massive or small, self-employment or even in family life. Think about a family of four. Countless details (weeds) have to be addressed 24/7 which leaves little time for actually enjoying everyday life within one’s family. Weeds have to be pulled (checked off the list) or we will live and work in chaos. Most people don’t want every day to strangled by chaos…most people.

I believe there are two exceptions to that last premise and they are people who purposefully propagate evil and those who are fools. Sometimes these two groups of people meld together and are hard to sort out. But for our current 31 Days journey we will stick with the foolish person in our discussion of living in the weeds. 

In our key verse, we see that there are those who hate but don’t want anyone to know they are filled with hate, so they lie…a lot. The intent of this first phrase is that their lips are always lying. They have to keep lying. They have to keep up the pretense of not being filled with hate. It is a foolish notion that they can keep up with all these lies (weeds) and is quite exhausting. We also see that spreading or sharing slander (lies) is a trait of a fool, which is lying lips used specifically to hurt another person. 

So, what is slander? It is a lie about another human being presented as true and factual and that is shared with at least one third party person with the intent to ruin the reputation of that other human being. Legally it is called defamation and can be brought to a civil court for resolution and compensation, but is notoriously hard to prove.  Slander used to be serious business in most societies but in today’s instant fake news world; not so much. But to God, slander always has been and will always be a big deal. 

Solomon elaborates about slander with similar proverbs…

Proverbs 16:28

A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.

Proverbs 20:19

He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip.

Jesus includes slander and foolishness in a not so flattering list…

Mark 7:20-23

And He [Jesus] was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. [Mine]

Fools have to deal with these extra weeds constantly because they’ve created most of the weeds themselves with their lying lips and slanderous ways. These types of weeds spread like dandelions in a pristine lawn. The only way to get rid of obstinate dandelions is to pull them up by the roots. And fools, whether motivated by hate or jealousy or some other peevish emotion, they don’t want to deal with root problems, so they keep all their weeds in their box and refuse to clean out that box! 

Everyone has a box they live in. Let’s keep our boxes clean of lying lips and slanderous ways!