Gossip
June 24, 2008
By George P. Wood
Gossip
On rare occasions, my wife drags
me to the supermarket. Since I’m the primary beneficiary of what’s purchased
there, she figures I should occasionally share in the burden of actually
purchasing it. After 30 minutes of mindlessly pushing a wobbly cart up and down
the aisles, I find my attention drawn to the gossip magazines at the checkout
counter, which usually carry a story on Britney Spears or one of the three
presidential candidates. On a good day, they carry stories about all four.
When I find my attention thus
drawn, I ask myself why a graduate-school-educated pastor would let himself get
suckered into interest in that trash.
But let’s be honest: Who doesn’t
like to read a little gossip now and then?
The Book of Proverbs recognizes
the enduring power of gossip, of saying things about others behind their backs
in order to harm them.
“The words of a gossip are like
choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts” (18:8; 26:22, NIV).
Several months ago, some
parishioners treated my wife and me to a dinner they had won from a
professional caterer. The food was unbelievably tasty. Unfortunately, it was
marinated in so much butter that when we were finished eating my stomach rebelled.
Gossip is like that. It tastes good on the lips, but it does bad things to your
soul.
Why? Well, sometimes it involves
breaking trust with a friend.
“A gossip betrays a confidence, but
a trustworthy man keeps a secret” (11:13).
“A gossip betrays a confidence; so
avoid a man who talks too much” (20:19).
Sometimes it destroys
relationships.
“A perverse man stirs up
dissension, and a gossip separates close friends” (16:28).
“As a north wind brings rain, so
a sly tongue brings angry looks” (25:23).
“Without wood a fire goes out; without
gossip a quarrel dies down” (26:20).
Sometimes it results in damage to
our own reputations.
“Do not bring hastily to court, for
what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? If you argue
your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man’s confidence, or he who
hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation” (25:8-10).
And sometimes it ends up blowing
up in our own faces.
“Do not slander a servant to his
master, or he will curse you, and you will pay for it” (30:10).
In each of these cases, it
doesn’t matter whether what we’re saying is true. Obviously, it would be wrong
to say something false about a person behind his back. But gossip may be built
around true information and still be morally reprehensible. It is quite
possible, after all, to speak the truth with malice and contempt in your heart.
In fact, that’s what is wrong with gossip: Information, whether true or false,
is shared in order to harm someone else.
The next time you’re standing in
line next to a gossip magazine, don’t look! If you wouldn’t want others to say
those kinds of things about you, don’t read them about others!
— George P. Wood is senior
pastor of Living Faith Center (AG) in Santa Barbara, Calif., and author of The Daily Word online devotionals.
