Leviticus 19:16 “You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people; neither shall you stand idly over the blood of your neighbor: I am YHVH.”
Proverbs 6:16-19 states “These six things YHVH hates; Yes and seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look; a lying tongue; hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked plans; feet that are swift in running to evil; a false witness who speaks lies; and one who sows discord among brethren.”
What Is Gossip?
Gossip accuses people. It labels someone “bad”, “stupid” “of low character” or anything else that is condemning. It charges others with “wrong” with an opinion. Gossip slanders others. Gossip destroys a person’s character or personal reputation. Gossip is always done behind a person’s back.
5 Things About Gossip
1. Gossip often doesn’t quote word for word. People recall the events in their mind, which may add to, subtract, or remember what they choose to remember. They say just anything that comes into their minds about the situation whether it is accurate or not.
2. Gossip never grasps the entire story. Does the gossiper know ALL of the life decisions or surrounding facts about the person they are talking about? Of course not. They see what they want to see. They tell what they want to tell, they tell what LITTLE is told to them. Gossip is always half truths.
2. “Oh, let me tell you how much worse that other person is than ME!” The gossip never thinks of themselves as being lowly, otherwise they wouldn’t be seeking to defame another. People of low self-esteem tend to gossip. Gossip allows their own egos to rise up, making themselves feel good on the misfortunes of others. The pattern goes on an on, they yearn to gossip, because it makes them feel so much better about themselves.
3. People That Have Nothing To Do TALK…… People who are idle with their hands (don’t have a job, don’t go to school, don’t have hobbies, don’t have much to do with their time) tend to be active with their tongues. Paul comments in I Timothy 5:13: “And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not”
4. An opinion is JUST an Opinion. Opinions aren’t law, and they certainly are not Gods law. There are dozens if not hundreds of ways to cook chicken, who says which method is supreme? Get the idea? (Don’t confuse something in scripture we are told NOT to do, in that case we rebuke, or edify each other based on Gods written word) After all your way is the best right? Not even close.
Are these judgements really worth getting out of fellowship with God over? Guard your relationship with God, and choose not even to entertain judgement.
To avoid judgment, get up immediately and start doing something different. Or say out loud… “it is not of my concern, God forgive me, I forgive them”
5. Proverbs 20:19 Gossip betrays confidence, and we are told by the word that we are to avoid anyone who talks too much. Why does gossip betray confidence? We all know a friend or two who likes to blabber on and on and on. A person WHO TALKS ALOT, also talks about you.
These people who talk endlessly cannot overcome the temptation to keep some things private. They can never keep something told in confidence, to themselves. They just cannot do it! They aren’t educated to talk about politics, world studies, or anything of great intellect, so they talk about others for entertainment.
Reasons To Start Editing What You Say To These People:
A. You find that what you said to this “endless talker” now becomes the understanding of another friend, and it comes up in conversation to you after it has come around full circle!
B. “Endless talkers” take your private disputes with family, friends, and involve others. After “opinions” are exchanged, the minor problem now becomes a big deal with your circle of friends. You soon realize that NOW everyone holds the same “opinion” as the “Endless Talker” on your choices or lifestyle.
C. You find your “”endless talking friend” telling you “secrets” of the same person two or three times. They don’t realize they have told you this secret three times already!!! This person truly cannot keep anything to themselves!
D. You take steps to avoid what you tell this “endless talker” such as any true private details, but they find other areas of your life to talk about. They disagree on everything from your food choices, to how you keep your house, to how you raise your children. Nothing is off limits to them!! This “endless talker” keeps adding unnecessary drama into your life.
James 4:11 tells us: “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge“. Gossiping is bearing false witness, and that brings the death penalty, we are told in Romans 6:23.
Realize that our Fathers laws never were done away with, as we are told by Yeshua in Matthew 5:17-19. Therefore, gossip is serious business. Yeshua died for our sins… do we then slap him in the face over and over again? OH MY!! Now you get the picture here. Never ever would we treat our Messiah that way, so why would we put him back on the cross by NOWINGLY participating in this sin? Ponder that for a moment, and let it sink in!
How You Can Turn Your Life AWAY From Gossip
I. Realize This Isn’t Godly:-Not only should you repent of gossiping, you should stop listening to gossip. Realize this action alone will create seperation between your fellowship with our Father, for he HATES it! Start making the decision today to get this RIGHT in your life. Make the decision that this is important to get right in your life.
II. Entertaining Conversations Are Just As Bad- Listening to gossip makes you an accomplice and in our Fathers eyes, it is just as bad as the person selling the gossip. First of all, realize that you are guilty here, and turn away from this starting TODAY! We all have fallen short here, we all have participated in some form of gossip and that makes us guilty, guilty, guilty.
Start coming up with a plan…..
What are you going to say when these things come up?
“it doesn’t matter to me“,
“I guess that is something they have to get right in their life… I wish the best for them”
“We all love XXX, there are so many things in my own life I need to get straightened out before I could even stand in judgement of XXX”
III. Edit Your Life- A big part of who you become is who you choose to surround yourself with. How long have you entertained this sin for? Be sick of it! Start EDITING your life. YOU decide who you let into your life, and who you refuse to let go. You decide WHO is on your facebook friends list, and what ideas you will entertain. Surround yourself with people who make you push to become better for Christ, and start editing out those who cause you to stumble.
How To Be Friends With Someone Who Talks Too Much- Wiki HOW
Take a look at who is in your life right now. Do you have some friendships and acquaintances you know that you need to end, cut off, and let go? You know you do, and who they are. DO IT. This was one of the hardest things to do, but also one of the best decisions you can ever made.
IIII. Start Surrounding Yourself WITH Whom You Would Like to Become Like– You don’t need to personally know all the great people you admire but there is other ways of their influence in your life. Become friends with them on facebook, subscribe to their feed, read books, listen to podcasts, read blogs. Think about some of the “great people” that you would like to meet, and turn off your TV and make time to discover them.
Picture credit to Norman Rockwell “The Gossips”