44. Do not gossip

God wants us to live honorable lives. He wants us to love one another and to reach out to one another, to exalt and to lift up, not to destroy. God's intention is so clear when you read the laws that He explained to Moses. And one that I would like to stand still on today is the following:

"Do not pass along false reports. Do not cooperate with evil people by telling lies on the witness stand." Exodus 23:1

God doesn't want us to harm one another unnecessarily. He doesn't want us to spread rumors and He doesn't want us to participate in lies spread about our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we hear about rumors He wants us to squelch them, not spread them.

Gossip is truly a spiritual cancer in our day. Just look at the big news it makes when a celebrity does something wrong/ or there is a rumor of misconduct on their side. I have heard of programs on television, where celebrities are judged and analyzed according to their conduct and people love watching it! They live for magazines spreading all the dirt on those who are famous. They can't wait to read it.

But unfortunately not only celebrities have rumors spread about them, but everywhere we go people spread rumors about people they know. I have found that no matter where you worked or lived, people tend to spread bad things about others. And before you know it, you are in the middle of a conversation like that. What is our responsibility as a Christian? Well, first of all don't spread the rumor any further. And secondly, try and stir the conversation unto another subject/ excuse yourself from the conversation. God wants us to build up one another, not tear down.

But it is very difficult, I know. I battle with this myself. And through this battle I have asked myself when is something gossip and when is something simply telling what happened to someone else? When is talking about someone a bad thing to do and when is it simply conveying facts that happened? And I think we can follow the following three things as guidelines:

  1. Is it up building and positive towards the person you are talking about? For example you tell of someone who won a competition. If it is not up building, then stop.
  2. Is it merely facts you are conveying, for example, poor Stacy's car was stolen from the shopping mall? If it is merely facts, then it is okay.
  3. Would you still feel comfortable in telling the story if the person you are talking about was in the room with you? If yes, then it is okay.

This morning God reminded me of scripture in Philippians 4:8:

"Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

And if you fix your thoughts on these good things listed above, you will automatically tend to speak only of the good in others too. And you will tend to want to leave/switch off the television when evil is spoken of others. God doesn't condone gossiping and the Holy Spirit inside of us certainly doesn't either. And if we want to be happy and at peace with God, we can't condone it and we certainly can't participate in it!

Father God, please forgive us for giving in to our culture and gossiping about other people. We are sorry. Please give us the strength not to give in to the pressure again. In Jesus' Name. Amen

3 comments for “44. Do not gossip”

  1. Gravatar of Karlien WoodKarlien Wood
    Posted Friday, 22 March 2013 at 12:59:48 PM

    Baie dankie Ilze, dit is kosbare advies en ek staan self skuldig voor die Here. Ons kan so maklik van ander praat, baie dankie ook vir die Bybelverse.. ons moet dit prakties LEEF!

  2. Gravatar of IlzeIlze
    Posted Tuesday, 26 March 2013 at 10:04:26 AM

    Dis n plesier, soos ek se, ek sukkel self hiermee en het regtig die Heilige Gees nodig vir leiding! Mag die Here ons almal lei en help! Liefde!

  3. Posted Friday, 03 May 2013 at 10:33:35 AM

    baie dankie ook vir die Bybelverse.. ons moet dit prakties LEEF!

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