CYPRESS WOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

October 24, 2004

LIFT UP THE FOLLOWING:

Our congregation Our nation, military and leaders

Our college students Various friends, relatives and co-workers

David and Leon in the Navy

EVENTS:

Today Pot Luck and baby shower

Oct. 30 - Hobo Party at the Cruthirds

Oct. 31 - Clocks go back one hour

Nov. 2 - Election Day

GOSSIP, GOSSIP

“A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11:13).

“Gossip, gossip, evil thing; Much unhappiness we bring

If you can 't say something nice; Don’t talk at all is my advice.”

This is a song we learned at Encounter being sung in Jamaican style. Many of us have played a game in

which a story begins and then things are added to it until the original is lost. And then there was the

telephone book cover using a Norman Rockwell painting in which a husband tells his wife something. It

goes through a series of people and back to the husband who then in the last scene is yelling at his wife.

We find this funny. Gossip is a form of comedy entertainment and is used in situation comedies; and

many of us laugh at it. Then there are the gossip columnists and television shows. Maybe that is why we

don’t take gossip seriously.

Many of us like juicy stories, can’t wait to hear them, and too often can’t wait to pass them on. Some just

can’t wait to get to a friend and tell the latest on so and so. One person attempting to justify gossiping

said that she was just passing along information and what others do is none of her business. “Want to

hear the latest gossip?”

Words mean something and they can be destructive. Many would say that they had no intention of

hurting anyone but the end result is a broken relationship and distrust of one or many. Is it any wonder

that when we read lists of sins in scripture, half of those sins deal with speech? Gossip does not respect

others. It passes along half-truths and facts spun to one’s advantage. It does not seek what is best for

another but only shows some selfishness on the part of the gossiper.

One sister in discussing gossip said that she asks the person telling her something, "What are you going to

do with that information?” The challenge then is to think about what we are doing when we tell

something  to someone. First, I would say that if a  person comes and says, “Did you hear what happened to

so and so?" I would say, no and then say, "Have you talked to this person about this?" Most likely they

haven’t. Matthew 18:15 makes it clear that we are to go to our brother/sister and attempt to deal with it.

Now a person might say that it is none of your business. That’s okay. We can state that we will pray for

them and assure them that nothing will be said about this from my perspective. Maybe we could suggest

someone who could counsel them. There are any number of positive things we could do rather than gossip.

What happens when a person becomes known as a gossip is that they are considered untrustworthy. One

just does not tell them anything. Some gossips however would make good reporters the way they dig

around looking for any morsel of information. Twice Solomon says that “The words of a gossip are like

choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts" (Proverbs 18:8; 26:22). Gossips cannot be

satisfied; they must have more and more. And what happens then? “A gossip separates close friends”

(Proverbs 16:28). I have known this to happen. It caused problems in a congregation I know of because

one of the elder's wives was gossip and he refused to do anything about it. Because of the make up of

the congregation, they were without elders for about a year and when they appointed new elders, he

wasn’t one of them. He left in a huff. Gossip is connected with slander and arrogance (2 Corinthians 12:20)

and with busybodies (1 Timothy 5:13). It is also considered malicious (Romans 1:29; 3 John 10).

Gossip is not good for one’s spiritual life or relationships with God and others.

Why bring this up? Because it is just too easy to do it and to justify actions. As Christians we have a

responsibility to be different from society. We need to make the effort at unity, at things that are

beneficial to others, and at building relationships. Words need to be carefully spoken. And if one knows

a gossiper, then we need to inform that person when they begin telling us about another, "I'm not

interested.” Rather, what can I do to help both the gossiper and the one they are talking about. How can I

best serve? We are all tempted to gossip but self-control is required. Let’s make the effort. It isn’t worth

destroying friendships and relationships for half-truths and juicy lies.                                                                     

George B. Mearns