DON’T OPEN THE BOX
Gossip. It’s our human nature. We crave little morsels of tales of scandal and deceit. And we love hearing the juicy details about someone else’s failures. You may already be saying to yourself….”what? Not me! I am a Christian” But friends, Christians are not immune to gossip. The workplace and church are two of the largest platforms for gossip in my opinion. Work cultures give way to competition. And jealousy often breeds contentment even in the church.
In the Hebrew gossip is defined as revealing the secrets of others and a gossiper is one who goes about as a talebearer. In the moment, gossip may seem justified and it may make you feel better about yourself as you discuss secrets or truths about others. But regardless of the moment, context or subject at hand, the Bible clearly defines gossip as a sin.
*Romans 1:29 “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and GOSSIP.” Yikes! Gossip is listed in the same sentence as murder and hate!
*1 Timothy 5:12-13 – Paul is encouraging young widows against “gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.” Widows are women. God knows us ladies and our human nature towards gossip.
*Leviticus 19 – God is giving Moses instructions for the community of Israel to live by and in verse 16 we are told that we “must not go about spreading slander among God’s people.”
Several years ago during a meeting something that I said was taken out of context and rumors ensued about me. The rumor spread like wildfire. It was a painful time. Not only because what I had said was completely misconstrued but the person who started the rumor was someone that I enjoyed working with. I was wounded deeply and even after I came to forgive this person our relationship was forever changed. It is difficult to trust someone even after wounds are healed. Proverbs 16:28 reminds us that “gossip separates close friends.”
Yet even though I know how painful it was for me to walk through this season, I too have been the gossiper on more than one occasion. Satan’s mission is for us to tear down each other; especially among us believers. Those who seek to build the Kingdom are the ones the enemy will always first try to recruit. Which is why it is so important that we stay connected and rooted in God’s word. This is how He speaks to us. This is how He shows us our ways so that we may come to Him for repentance and forgiveness. #stayrooted
In the workplace we are called to represent Christ! This is a BIG deal. Those that know we are Christians will be watching and observing how we act and respond to gossip. It is so important that when we speak that our words match the expectation that God has set before us. Ask yourself, ‘would I say this if the person was in the room?” Or you can ask yourself, “are my words helping or hurting?” We can refuse to participate in Satan’s schemes. We can refuse to be the extra piece of wood that fuels the fire. Proverbs 26:20 “Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when the gossip stops.”
If we don’t nibble on the first bite of gossip, we won’t be tempted to take the second and third bite. Proverbs 18:8 “Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.” Proverbs 26:22 “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down to the inmost being.” We can resist gossip by never opening the box.
Lord, we come to you today with a heart of repentance. We ask that you guard our tongues and help us to refrain from gossip. We ask that the words we speak raise others up instead of tearing them down. We dedicate the words that come out of our mouth to you Lord. Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
From Rooted,
Heather & Lisa
