{"id":726,"date":"2025-03-03T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lorihatcher.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2025-03-05T21:46:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T02:46:02","slug":"gossip-5-surprising-things-you-might-not-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lorihatcher.com\/?p=726","title":{"rendered":"Gossip — 5 Surprising Things You Might Not Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cDid you hear what happened with the Smithsons? I suspected something was going on, but I never imagined it was this bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip is everywhere<\/strong>\u2014break rooms, coffee shops, the gym, and, sadly, even in the church. Sometimes it\u2019s obvious, like the example above. Other times it\u2019s much more subtle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJean, I want to share a prayer request. Did you hear that John\u2019s fallen off the wagon again? We\u2019ve got to pray for him and Chelsea. I\u2019m so afraid he\u2019s going to lose his job. And then how will they keep the kids in Christian school? I heard that they\u2019re paying $8,000 a year to keep them there. . . and I think they had to take out a second mortgage to buy that new minivan last month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google defines gossip as \u201ccasual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture has a long list of names for it: slander, backbiting, betraying a confidence, whispering, and tale bearing. However you define gossip, the Bible clearly warns us of its destructive power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Here are five things you need to know about gossip: <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. When we gossip, we break God\u2019s greatest commandment, the call to love one another. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another\u201d (John 13:34-35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Gossip hurts our witness to the unsaved world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBy this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another\u201d (John 13:25). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wounding other believers with our speech (gossipy \u201cprayer requests,\u201d whispered \u201cI\u2019m concerned about so-and-so,\u201d and behind-the-back conversations in the spirit of \u201ccare and concern\u201d doesn\u2019t demonstrate an accurate picture of how sisters and brothers in Christ should act toward each other. The world sees this, takes note, and determines that \u201cbelievers\u201d are no different than unbelievers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. God holds us accountable for every idle word we say.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBut I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.\u201d (Mat. 12: 36-37).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If we\u2019re true, born-again believers, we have the assurance that Christ took the punishment for our sins, even the ones we haven\u2019t committed yet, on the cross. So when the Bible talks about being judged, it\u2019s talking about a different type of judgment. This judgment may involve a loss of rewards (because gossip is certainly \u201cwood, hay, and stubble\u201d that will burn) or experiencing the natural results of being a gossip, like loss of trust and broken relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Gossip will cause you to lose friends. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends\u201d (Prov. 16:28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most obvious way we can lose friends is to gossip specifically against that person. When word gets back to them, and it will, your relationship can be permanently damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another reason gossip parts friends is because sharing gossip, even if it\u2019s about someone else, destroys our friend\u2019s confidence in our trustworthiness. If Cara hears you gossiping about Shelby, then she\u2019s naturally going to wonder what you say about her when she\u2019s not around. Because trust is the foundation of any deep and lasting relationship, without it, our friendships will be superficial and stunted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. Gossip will find its way back to you. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWhat you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs\u201d (Luke 12:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The very nature of gossip requires passing along information. When that \u201cinformation\u201d makes its way to the person being talked about, rest assured, the tale-bearing breadcrumbs will lead straight to your door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that we\u2019ve examined these five scary truths about gossip, here are six questions we should ask ourselves before we speak:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n