Sometimes, you can catch yourself gossiping when you suddenly lower your voice, look around to see who might be listening, and step closer to your friend before speaking. The English Standard Version often names a gossip as “a whisperer,” which emphasizes the secretive nature of this sin (Proverbs 16:28 18:8 26:20, 22). Gossip is clandestine, hidden, furtive, stealthy, sly (Proverbs 25:23 Psalm 101:4–5). It is much easier and more interesting to discuss others when they are not around. By definition, gossip occurs only when the subject of the story is not present. So, in the back of your mind, when any conversation begins to steer toward the topic of other people, you can ask yourself, “Is this story true? How do I know?” “Is this story mine to tell? Is it his to tell me?” “Is this story bad news?” Behind Someone’s BackĪ gossip bears this bad news behind his victim’s back. One time when King David was sick, his enemies acted concerned when they visited him but then secretly celebrated his projected downfall and spread the story that he was about to die (Psalm 41:5–8). Other times, we might spread a wicked story of what might soon happen to someone else. Just because someone actually did something wrong does not mean that we need to, or get to, talk about it with others. One biblical phrase for this kind of speech is “a bad report,” such as what Joseph brought against his brothers (Genesis 37:2). You might have been taught that “if it’s true, it’s not gossip.” But needlessly sharing shameful truth about someone else can be gossip. “The sin of gossip is bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart.”īad news about someone. Or you might only think the story is true (perhaps without good reason), but it turns out to be wrong - hearsay, a rumor, a half-truth (Proverbs 18:13, 17). The story may be false, and if you know that beforehand, then spreading it is not just gossip but slander (Leviticus 19:16 Psalm 15:3 Proverbs 19:5). This bad news - a story of someone else’s sin or shame - can be bad in at least two ways.īad information. In the mouth and the ear of a gossip is a morsel of bad news, not the good news. This functional definition considers the action itself, the content of the corrupt communication, the situation in which it occurs, and perhaps most importantly, the motivations of the people involved. My way of summarizing the Bible’s teaching on this topic is to say that the sin of gossip is bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart. The Bible often uses the word gossip to describe a kind of person more than just a pattern of communication. Instead, they describe gossip in action and intimately tie it to the character of the people participating in this tantalizing sin. The Scriptures do not provide a definition of gossip in one location. So, what exactly makes gossip gossip? We need some handholds. It slips into our conversations, and its definition slips by us. We don’t always know when we’re being a gossip. Gossip can be hard to resist.īut gossip isn’t just hard to resist it’s hard to define. Or we get mad and crave the satisfaction of character assassination from afar, sniping at our enemies when they don’t even know they’re in danger. Or we get proud that we know something that someone else doesn’t and want to show off our inside scoop. We get bored and want to entertain ourselves by snacking on the shameful stories of other people’s lives. The book of Proverbs likens the words of a gossip to “delicious morsels,” a tasty treat that promises delight to those who indulge (Proverbs 18:8 26:22). Gossiping can be fun and addictive and provide a short burst of guilty pleasure. At your best in Christ, you don’t want to be one.Īll too often, however, you and I do want to gossip. The Bible labels gossips as untrustworthy and meddlesome (Proverbs 11:13 20:19 26:20 1 Timothy 5:13) - and even as worthy of death (Romans 1:29, 32). Gossips hurt neighbors, divide friends, and damage reputations and relationships.
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