What You Told | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 1, 1883

What You Told.

"Unruly and vain talkers" frequently find that they have told more than they intended to; and sometimes they tell much more than they suppose. You perhaps told the other day an idle rumor of a brother's fault. It was a spicy story, you laughed at your own wit, and others laughed to hear the tale. That was what you told; but you also told more. You told that you were a man of unclean lips; a man who had the tastes of a blackguard, and the dialect of the bar-room. You told that you were willing to smile to a man's face, and sneer at him behind his back; that you would shake a man's hand, and then turn and pick his character; that you were willing to tell a dirty story when you did not yourself believe that it was true; and convey an impression to others which in your heart you believe to be a falsehood. You thought you had told something to the discredit of your neighbor; in fact you told much more to the discredit of yourself. What you told about your neighbor might have been and probably was false, but there could be no possible mistake about the truth of what you told about yourself. You supposed you told your neighbor's affairs, and rehearsed his business, and thus tried to disgrace him in the eyes of others; but you also told that you were a busybody in other men's matters; that you attended to others' affairs rather than your own; and that you possessed not only the disposition of a slanderer, but also the character of a meddler and mischief-maker, who is least welcome where he is best known.

Keep on with your remarks, my friend, and you will not only tell what you know about your neighbor, but also a number of things which you do not know about yourself. Somebody will profit by the disclosure, and learn to keep clear of a man who does not know how to bridle his tongue or mind his own business. They will beware of the talebearer and slanderer. When they hear him talk about others they will say, "perhaps my turn will come next." "A dog that will fetch a bone will carry one;" and it is best to "beware of dogs."—Selected.