GOSSIP

A woman said to me,”You can preach about gossip all you want, but you will never stop it.” Maybe she was right, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to remain silent. A lack of response doesn’t change my responsibility to denounce what the Bible condemns.   Gossip is to the church what cancer is to a body. It just keeps eating away until it destroys everything. The devil knows that, and so he just keeps feeding the rumor mill. And, he is smart. If he can’t get you directly involved in the gossip circle he will use another method. One of the most common is to have you put it in the form of a “prayer request”. Some holier-than thou person will say something like this–“I hate to mention it, but we need to pray for so-and-so. Did you know——-“.   The problem is that most folks don’t understand the nature of gossip. They think if what they say is true it is fair game. Here’s what you need to remember–some gossip is based on lies and some on facts, but in both cases it is destructive and should be avoided. Just because something is true, that doesn’t give you a licence to repeat it.   Here’s three reasons why we should refrain from gossip: 1. It is hurtful to others-(Proverbs 11:9)     It hurts those of whom you speak. Some people would have recovered from their sin had it not been for all the gossip about it.     It hurts those to whom you speak. Long after you are gone your words will remain in the mind of the person who heard them. Sometimes the gossip about a person’s sin does more damage than the sin itsefl.   2. It is hated by God (Proverbs 6:16-19)     God hates all sin. When you gossip about another person’s sin you are doing the same thing that person did–offending God! The nature of your sin might be different, but that doesn’t make it better. Putting it in the form of a “prayer request” doesn’t sancitify it.   3. It is harmful to you (Proverbs 26:20-28)     Don’t think for a moment that you can hurt others and offend God without suffering the consequences. The Bible teaches that such people should be excluded from the church (Rom. 16:17 ; 2 Thess. 3:6-14). Next time you are tempted to gossip about the gossipers you need to remember that!   A.B. Simpson wrote: ” I would rather play with forked lightning or take in my hands living wires than speak a reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous darts which thousands of Christians are hurling on others, to the hurt of their own souls and bodies.”