Gossip Spreads Strife
Proverbs 16:28 Troublemakers are always causing problems. Their gossip breaks up the closest of friends.
One of the great conflicts I think that any Christian suffers from is this: How can I have behaved so badly, when Jesus gave so much for me? It’s a very real struggle and it’s one that can manifest itself in so many different areas of our lives.
I don’t know about you, but I have this passion to serve Jesus with every breath that I take; to honour Him and glorify Him with every thought, word and deed. But still, I make mistakes. We all do.
And one of the areas you see this happening so often, is in people gossiping. Those same ones who perhaps lifted their hearts and their hands in worship last Sunday. How can we possibly do that after what Christ has done for us? Good question.
Gossip is the act of telling others things about someone that may or may not be true, or that may be true in part, but the truth’s somehow been distorted, perhaps through lack of context, or simply in the way it’s told. It’s telling others things about someone that shouldn’t be told.
Proverbs 16:28 Troublemakers are always causing problems. Their gossip breaks up the closest of friends.
When you think about it, gossip carries with it the real possibility – no, wrong word, probability – of breaking up relationships. That’s why, according to God, gossipers are troublemakers.
Is it really worth it, damaging someone’s reputation, tearing apart relationships, just so that you can share that delectable little tidbit with someone else? Just so that you can play the “I know something that you don’t” game?
Far from being harmless, gossip destroys reputations and relationships. Can you imagine God gossiping behind your back, telling the world all the things He knows about you? Don’t gossip, lest He should brand you a troublemaker.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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