Friday, July 13, 2018

Why You Need to Avoid Gossip and Rumors





What dainty morsels rumors are—but they sink deep into one’s heart. 

Proverbs 18:8 NLT 


How often does gossip affect your life?

I’m sorry to say that it used to be a daily temptation of mine.

In a place where I used to work, gossip passed through the place like a platter of warm cookies, delicious and irresistible. Too often, I took cookie after cookie from that secretly dangerous plate. I even shared those cookies with others.

Why are rumors and gossip so appealing to us?

I once knew a Bible study friend who lived a simple life. She candidly admitted that the drama of rumors appealed to her sense of excitement, which she felt was missing from her rather mundane yet godly living.

The lonelier we feel, the tighter grip rumors and gossip can have on us. Gossip and rumors can make us feel important, in-the-know, and on the side with the “cool kids.”

I think that’s why I’ve savored gossip and rumors like dainty morsels before.

But gossip and rumors have a deadly effect. In the Bible, gossip is grouped with sins like murder, greed and hate. God doesn’t want us to participate in these sins because he knows the destructive power of cutting words. He wants us to actively build relationships instead of tearing them down. He wants us to overlook offenses and honor secrets.

As a freelance writer, I often write articles for dentists. One thing I’ve learned over the past year is the importance of yearly dental checkups. The dental assistant has the dirty job of scraping plaque from underneath your gums. I never understood why this is important until I began writing dental articles.

If you don’t remove plaque from under your gums, it can travel to your arteries and cause blockage in your heart. The plaque left over from food can cause heart attacks or strokes, which are leading causes of death in the U.S. Gross, but true. And easily preventable with a healthier diet.

Gossip and rumors work the same way. They may taste delicious in the moment as we savor the momentary excitement they bring. But their toxic residue silently travels to our hearts where it can do the most damage. It can block our relationship with God and others and even put our eternal salvation at risk.

It’s hard to see the internal damage too many chocolate chip cookies can cause, just like it’s hard to see the damage of listening to a rumor or sharing one piece of gossip. But the Bible warns us against it, and we must follow God’s commands if we want to live a spiritually healthy life.
Too many cookies can cause invisible internal damage, just like rumors and gossip.

God tells us that we can bear spiritual fruit if we open our hearts to his Spirit. Fruit is healthy for our bodies and our spirits. Spiritual fruit improves relationships; it never destroys them like gossip or rumors do.

The next time you are tempted to listen to a rumor or share a bit of gossip, immediately ask the Holy Spirit to guard your tongue or cover your ears. Offer an arrow prayer for courage and strength to resist the temptation. Then walk away and let Jesus wrap his arms around you. Your spiritual heart will be stronger after the challenge, friend.


Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,



Photo from Canva.com

Reflection questions:


1. When are you most tempted by gossip or rumors?
2. What will you do differently next time gossip or rumors tempt you?

2 comments:

  1. This is such an important subject and one I need to hear often. Gossip is such an easy to slip into sin! If we don't stay vigilant, we'll find ourselves into it before we ever realize it. Scheduled for my "posts worth reading board."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing my post, Donna. Blessings to you!

    ReplyDelete

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