Love Doesn't Gossip

Whispered words are unworthy of belief,
Nor does accusation constitute fact;
He who falsely names is worse than a thief;
He steals repute, and hopes worse to exact!
What of his victim's deeds? Were all untrue?
Half-lies fit the namer, as well as the named;
Had the namer been chosen target, too,
His words would be twisted as the defamed.
O, brother, repent false witnessing's use,
Raising anger against your own brother,
Inciting men falsely to heap abuse,
Is harm to friend or foe, and any other!
False witness will Jesus never affirm;
Its use is among those Satan confirm!

Christians are commanded not to gossip; you must try to refrain from gossiping, and you will find that it is probably the hardest change you will have to make, to love as Jesus loved. Have you heard of God's Ten Commandments? They can be found in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20. The Ninth Commandment, found in verse 16, states that you are not to give false witness about your neighbor. It applies to you and to every person; and 'false witness' means 'gossip'. Do you remember the game we played called 'Gossip'? The partygoers would make a circle; the first in line would whisper a phrase or sentence into the ear of the second person; that individual would whisper the same words into the ear of the third; and the process would continue around to the last member of the circle. That person would announce the phrase as it was told to him, to gales of laughter, because, invariably, not one word remained exactly as they were told by the first. The game is remarkably convincing of what happens to every rumor that passes through several people, and it invariably becomes more damning to the actor in the story.

The Bible is filled with scriptures that warn people to control their tongues. Not to do so is a sin. Here are scripture citations of less than one third of Bible passages concerning the harm done by tongue-waggers: Genesis 31:24; Leviticus 19:16; Numbers 23:8; Job 5:21; Psalm 12:2; Psalm 50:20; Psalm 59:12; Psalm 140:3; Proverbs 10:18; Ecclesiastes 10:20; Ezekiel 22:9; Romans 2:1; 1 Corinthians 13:6; James 3:3-6; and 1 Peter 3:18. Read a few of these, and you will have a new understanding of the horrors that gossiping brings on the world.

All people, believers and non-believers, love to gossip. If you are trying to love others as Jesus loved you, you must try to rid yourself of the sin of gossiping about anyone. Always say something good about everyone, or keep silent. Even harder, do not listen to gossip. It is better to remove the phone from your ear than to listen when a friend to saying anything negative about a joint acquaintance.

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
(James 3:6)