gossip

  Notice the title includes “we.”  This post is as much an examination of myself as anything else.

  Why do we listen to (And tend to believe) gossip… rumors… and things like that?  Why do we assume (It’s dangerous to “assume!”) that what we hear is always reliable and true?  Consider the Scripture…

   Proverbs 18:18 & 26:22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

We like to listen to gossip (AKA rumors, AKA slander) because it is “sweet” to us.  We like thinking… even if only for a moment… that someone else is having some kind of trouble and we’re not.  We like it when we get affirmation, even if it is untrue, that someone else is not as good as we are.  Those are some of the reasons we like to hear gossip.

   Truth: If someone will gossip to you about someone else, they will gossip to someone else about you!

The funny thing about gossip and rumors is that once you hear it, you tend to believe what you’re told and it is difficult to get that impression out of your head… thus “they go down into the inner parts of the body.”  First impressions are lasting impressions.

Now consider…

   Proverbs 11:13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

   Proverbs 20:19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

  Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

What is sad is that when people hear a rumor or some kind of gossip, rarely do they give the person it is about a chance for rebuttal or an opportunity to set the record straight.  That might take their joy away if they learned the real truth!

   Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.