Read Proverbs 11:13  This is the first of  five times in Proverbs that Solomon talks about a talebearer.  The word talebearer is a two-part word.  A tale is something that has a bit of the truth in it, but it is exaggerated.  A tale is more than the truth.  But something that is more than the truth is not the truth - it is a lie!  For example, we may come running into the house and tell our mother that there is this huge dog outside.  Mother may say, "Huge?  How big is huge?"  That is when we are tempted to tell a tall tale.  We are tempted to say, "It's as big as a bear!"  Uh Oh!  We've just told a tall tale - we've told a whopper of a tall tale.  The second half of our two-part word is bearer.  A talebearer is someone who bears, or caries the whopper of a tale.  So a talebearer is someone who takes the truth that is stretched into a lie and then tells it to other people in order to make the talebearer seem more important than they really are.  The talebearer mentioned in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 is described as carrying words that wound down into the belly.  Have you ever been sick to your stomach?  Solomon says that these evil words that the talebearer uses are like a deep cut right down in your stomach.  That would really hurt, wouldn't it?  Then in Proverbs 20:19 the talebearer is said to use flattering lips to trick you.  Flattering means to say nice things about you that make you feel great about yourself - except flattering words are just a trick to make you like the person who is flattering you.  You don't realize that the flatterer is lying about you.  He is using false words to trick you into liking him, even though you really know he is lying.  Because he is saying nice things about you, you kind of forget that he is lying.  You even like his lying because it is lying about how nice you are!  In Proverbs 26:20 a talebearer is compared to a fire.  Talebearers like to go around to different friends and spread lies about each of them to the other friend.  The friends get mad at each other, but seem to like only the talebearer because the talebearer never says anything bad about himself!  This verse says that the talebearer is like building a fire.  If you don't put more wood onto a fire, it soon goes out.  If the friends would not listen to the lies of the talebearer they would still be friends. Back to Proverbs 11:13: a person who is of a faithful spirit hides something that is not very good.  Don't tell stories about your friends just to hurt their feelings.  Look out for your friends - don't embarrass them - don't be a talebearer.