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Youve probably seen the experiment. They line a group a individuals up, then the scientist whispers a statement into the ear of the first. The first is then suppose to repeat the same statement to the second and so on down the line. The last in line is then suppose to repeat what they have heard back to the scientist who started the experiment. The statement has a morsel of truth from the beginning but has changed so much that is sounds nothing like it started. Example if I were to say, "I think the sky looks purple today." By the time that sentence makes it way around the room it could sound something like, "Christine said she saw a purple martian in the sky." Kind of an extreme example but you get the point.Â
Gossip is the same. Every encounter I have had with gossip is that it does not build up the individual that is being spoken of, but just the opposite it is tearing them down. I have been on both sides of the equation, I have been hurt by lies that have been spread about me. And I am ashamed to admit that I have participated in this terrible past-time. I call it a past-time because it seems that is what it has become. Look at our media outlets, the public just cant seem to get enough gossip about public figures. We just cant wait to see them fall. Much the same as those we encounter as Christians, most unbelievers just cant wait to see us fall. Even though we do not claim to be perfect or to even have it all figured out. Still there they are nipping at our heels, some even trying to tempt us into sin.Â
Gossip is an awful thing. Look at the stories we hear about kids that take their own life. Before it all came to that gossip played a big role. You see the interviews with their friends and family, they will tell you about things that were said about this child on facebook and in schools. I remember being this age and what my peers said hurt just as much as having my face pushing into the lockers, which by the way both happened. We have witnessed ministers torn down by gossip, things that later come out to be untrue but none the less the damage has been done to reputations, to church bodies, and the witness that goes out into the world when such things happen is not what we should be portraying. Time and again we are taught to guard against gossip, against slander, against false witness, we are to guard ourselves.
What is it about gossip that is so enticing? Is it that we can feel better about ourselves if someone else has failed, because secretly we know we fail daily. I dont know but I do know that I have found my own foot in its snare. This has been a harder one for me to overcome then to rid my life of those who constantly spread their negative thoughts upon all that they meet. I am quick to cut off one that is bring me down with their negativity. But alas not as quick to tell a gossip that I do not want to hear what they are saying. I am doing better, but I am not there yet.
Jesus said it best, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31 NIV) Words really to live by, we do not wish for untruth to be spread about us. So we must give our brothers and sister the same kind of respect. If we hear of a rumor/gossip that gives us cause for alarm, instead of picking up the phone to tell another. We should pick up the phone to call the individual that the rumor/gossip is about, let them be the one to clear things up. Gossip only muddies the waters. It is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. Let us build each other up, let us speak no slander, or have malice in our hearts for one another. It is time to heal the wound of the church body and a good place to start is by squashing the gossip that enters our church body.
Love and Blessings!
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