A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence. Proverbs 11:13 HCSB
One might assume that a church might be immune from gossip, but over my 40 years in ministry I have overheard far too much gossip. Just recently a man came to my office and told me that someone had said they had heard me say something and he wanted to know if it was true. I quickly told him that what he had heard was not the truth. He said he didn’t think it was true and wanted to go to the source and determine the truth. People often hear a portion of a conversation and then tell someone else, who then tells someone else, and before too long what is being told is not even close to what was originally said.
Gossip is defined as finding joy in spreading false information. Gossip always causes damage. It reveals secrets and harms reputations. Gossip can also cause an argument to intensify and get worse. Believers should eliminate gossip and walk away when they hear others gossiping. Those who habitually gossip seem to have a desire and hunger to get the latest news on others and then share it. Believers can help defuse and disarm those who like to gossip by refusing to listen.
Challenge: Think of specific ways you can take a stand against gossip. Are you enabling others to gossip when you eagerly listen to the latest gossip? Make a commit to eliminate and defuse gossip about others. Always make sure you have permission to share the truth from its source before repeating information.