Proverbs 26:20-22

20Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
21As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.
-Proverbs 26:20-22

It is amazing how quickly issues can be resolved without gossip being present. Gossipers fuel the fire in their own lives and others lives. Complaint does the same. As we go on and gossip and complain, it adds charcoal to those burning coals and further ignites issues. I have found that spouses that complain against one another and slander each other often run into more issues with one another than if they had remained peaceable. The gossip affects the condition of your heart. We should keep ourselves from it and seek to steer others away from it too. It has astounded me how much I have had my perspective shaped of another individual because of gossip, be that of my own or others. However, when the gossip ceases, the fire goes out. When that fire goes out, resolutions are had and peace is left to be found. Do not fuel that fire. Let it be extinguished.