Weekly Bulletins
Gossip
The Book of Proverbs calls someone who gossips a “talebearer.” This is someone who spreads rumors or facts, many times with evil intent. The gossiper sows discord among brethren and will most surely fall under the condemnation of God (see Proverbs 6:19).
“A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter” (Proverbs 11:13). When a troubled brother or sister confides in you and then says, “I knew that you wouldn’t tell anyone”, you are being told that you have “a faithful spirit.” Do you have a reputation of being someone that is of a faithful spirit, or do you have the reputation of being a talebearer who reveals secrets?
Please read and benefit from what Dee Bowman wrote on the subject: “In his little book Beauty Care for the Tongue, Larry Koopman cites four reasons why people gossip. They are worth repeating. (1) We gossip because we lack healthy self-respect. (2) We gossip because we haven’t sufficiently stimulated our minds with more important things. (3) We gossip because we are idle. (4) We gossip because we get into the habit of doing it. These things are worth careful consideration the next time someone delivers to you some juicy morsel through the age-old gossip chain. You can keep the tale going, or break the chain by the proper use of the tongue. ‘If any man among you seemeth to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain’” (James 1:26).
The listening ear must share the blame with the gossiping tongue. We must determine not to have anything to do with gossip.
Mike Pittman
