Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.
There is perhaps no greater danger to Jesus’ church than that of Gossip. Simply defined; Gossip is speaking about someone who is not present, in a negative manner. Friendships and marriages are destroyed, ministries come to and end. The power of life and death are in our tongues:
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue…
The problem with gossip is that it takes something from a person that they can never get back: Their reputation. Even if the rumor is not true, once it has been spread throughout the church, the good reputation of the victim of gossip is ruined forever.
The Bible states that there are seven things that The “Lord Hates.”
Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
The Lord hates all seven, but notice that the seventh, “a false witness who sows discord among brethren” is called “An Abomination” by the Lord.
There is something in our old lower nature that just loves to talk about other people. Especially when they have said or done something that has hurt us or that we don’t agree with. Instead of taking the hurt to the Lord, or waiting to see what the Lord will reveal when we witness questionable behavior, we very often take matters into our own hands.
When we begin to talk negatively about someone in our conversation, we create negative feelings or questions in the minds of those who hear us. Sometimes we cover our desire to gossip with a widely used Christian phrase: “Sharing”. Under the guise of sharing our feelings or sharing our need, we begin to speak things about other people that we should not say.
It is a very serious matter to destroy someone’s life by Gossip.
A man who ruined the reputation of a pastor of a small church and caused the eventual end to this man’s life-long ministry by spreading untruths, lost his youngest son to an automobile accident a few months later. The Lord takes very seriously those who ruin the lives and ministries of His people. As Korah and his family were swallowed up by a fissure in the earth that opened up and took them all, the Lord will avenge his children speedily when they are maligned and have their lives ruined by gossip.
Numbers 16:31-32 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah…
For the Lord to say that He hates gossip as much as murder in Proverbs 6, we must understand just how serious a few words spoken negatively can mean to our life.
As we walk daily with the Lord, may we determine to never speak negatively about a person in the presence of others. Just as important is that when someone begins to tell us gossip about someone, we refuse to hear it and correct the one who is speaking the gossip.
Rob Robinson
