Judges 15: 4-5

"So Samson caught 300 foxes. He tied them together in pairs by their tails. Then he fastened a torch between their tails. He set the torches on fire and released the foxes in the Philistines' grain fields.........................

Samson was angry with the Philistines and used an interesting method of retaliation. He caught 300 foxes, tied them together in pairs of two. He fastened a torch between their tails, set the torches on fire and sent them running through the wheat fields. The unharvested fields, the stacked bundles, and the nearby olive orchards were ruined by flames.

I try to avoid allegorical preaching but this story is so relevant. The story illustrates the destruction caused by talebearers. Samson puts two foxes together (conversation) and he ties a flaming torch in their tails (juicy gossip). He then sends them through the fields (tail or tale bearers) setting things on fire. The unharvested fields (unchurched), the harvested bundles (churched) and even the olive orchards (anointing)are ruined.

The Bible says talebearing is a sin. With the rise of social media, many have become comfortable openly committing this forbidden act. Leviticus 19:16 reads "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor". In Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22, Solomon twice says "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

In the 1700's play "The School of Scandals" Mrs. Candour said "Tale-bearers are as bad as the tale-makers." When we broadcast another person's sin, our broadcast is as sinful as the sin that we broadcast. Don't be a talebearer.