Did You Hear the Latest News?!

~~ Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) ~~  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

---

Photo Credit: MS Office Copyright Free Images

by Carley Cooper 

Gossip!  It’s wrong.  It hurts people.  God said not to do it.  But, it’s so much fun to do!  Resisting it, for a lot of people, means a big spiritual struggle inside.  Some justify it by saying things such as:

• “I’m not gossiping, I’m networking”
• “I’m not gossiping, I’m just telling my friend about this guy I know that...”
• “I’m not gossiping, I’m just asking my friend to pray for my family member who...”
• “I’m not gossiping, I’m just making an observation about a co-worker.”

“How Could You Say Such a Thing?”

A friend, who runs his own business, wrote a status message online saying “When you make collections calls its uncanny how often people were just talking about their bill and realized it was overdue.”  It’s a simple observation about humanity in the circumstances of owing money.  No names were mentioned.  No financial situations were described.  No private or personal information about the company or the customers was brought up.  

The response that was given in the following comments was very negative, saying that the message was inappropriate for a public forum because it’s a private matter.  My heart went out to all of them.  I felt bad for the person who wrote the status, because he had to endure the feedback.  I felt even worse for the person who left negative comments because I realized that after a lifetime of knowing this person she hasn’t changed or grown in Christ in the least.  She has a long history of being very negative toward other people all the time. 

God Loves Positive Thinkers

To be honest my first thought was “Would it really kill her to say something nice for once?”  Then, my next instinct was to run and tell a mutual friend about it.  But, I resisted.  It was a very difficult 20 minutes, as I visited with my friend.  It took everything I had to ‘bite my tongue’.  But, I did resist because it’s not right to gossip, and because I didn’t want to stoop to the levels of the negative response.  Maybe I noticed this and my feelings were so deep because of how hard I worked myself for several years to change my own thinking patterns from negative to positive.  I tend to notice negativity more now. 

God Loves Those Who Help Others

There are many bible verses that tell us about gossip and slander, and how we should conduct ourselves.   Neither the gossip nor the negative talk is right with God.   He told us in Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  Jesus is our example of how we should respond and interact with other people.  He never talked about others behind their backs. He certainly didn’t put anyone down.  He only built others up by teaching them.

I didn’t gossip about these people, when I certainly could have, and even wanted to.  I could have even injected myself into their conversation and told them exactly how I felt; but I didn’t.  I thought about God, and how He would want me to react.  The proper comeback to the status message, if the responding person felt so strongly about it would have been to send a private message; and even then she should have said things to help and build up, not tear down.  Her response to the message was more inappropriate than the status she was commenting on as being unsuitable. 

The next time you’re standing around the water cooler at work, and someone says “Did you hear the latest news?!”, how are you going to respond?  I think Thumper in the 1942 Walt Disney movie Bambi said it best “"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

Let’s Pray

 ~~ Dear God ~~ Graceful, merciful, and loving Father; sometimes our mouths work faster than our brains can keep up.  We speak and act before we think.  We talk about others, without giving a second thought to how You would have us deal with a situation.  Thank You for being patient with me as I try to become more like Jesus.  Thank You for molding me to be like Him.  Please help me to always help others in how I act, think, and speak.  Help me, also, to keep my thinking positive so that I can reflect Jesus to those who need to see it the most.  In Jesus name I pray, AMEN.

Now It’s Your Turn

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

Check out these other great options and join in the conversations...
RSS Feed	Facebook	Twitter	YouTube