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Things to remember about Gossip - Gossip is as sinful as murder and will suffer
the same consequences unless there is repentance (Rom. 1:32).
- God holds you accountable
to your words (Matt. 12:36-37).
- The person who gossips to you about others, also gossips to
others about you.
- Gossip & slander disqualifies persons for spiritual leadership (1 Tim.
3:11, Jas. 3:2).
- Gossip often masks as pretentious concerns for others.
- Gossip often thrives upon secrecy. Where secrecy is removed, gossip is hampered.
- Gossip
always contributes to a problem and never to a solution.
- Gossip always distorts and exaggerates,
and is never a reliable source of truth.
- Those who gossip & slander are not in right fellowship
with God (Rom. 1:28-32).
- 10Those who gossip rarely get answers to prayer, and often face persistent,
unexplainable
problems (Psalms 66:18, Prov. 21:23, Prov. 6:12-15).
7 things to do about Gossip If you have been a gossiper, confess this as sin and ask Christ
to forgive you. “Repent” by turning in a new direction and surrendering your tongue to Christ, not to gossip or
bad-mouth again (1 John 1:9, 1 Cor. 7:10). Keep your nose out of other people’s business. If you can’t say something good or encouraging about others, then keep your mouth
shut (Eph. 4:29). Never criticize
another person, except to their own face with an intent to help. Criticism can never be “constructive” if expressed
to anyone else. If your “friends”
start bad-mouthing others to you, stop them in their tracks -- refuse to be a partaker of their sins (1 Tim 5:22). Avoid association with persons who gossip (Prov. 20:19). Expose works of darkness by reporting gossip to the pastor
that he may confront and offer correction. Gossip should be treated as any other vile sin (Eph. 5:11).
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A Tale bearer is a person who spreads
gossip, secrets, etc., that may cause trouble or harm. Gossip, the telling
or repetition of tales about others, is a universal social phenomenon which plays as an important role in our present-day
culture as it did in times past. The observation that most people gossip is commonplace, but as yet no comprehensive psychoanalytic
examination of this widespread form of communication has been made.Gossip is the result of a very complex interaction between the individual psyche and the social
world. Any attempt at a complete discussion of the subject necessitates an investigation into the person, "the gossip,"
the verb "to gossip," and the subject material of gossip. A person who has achieved proficiency in the area of sharing
the secrets of others in order to manipulate the behavior of members of a social group is identified as "a gossip."
Introduction to How Gossip Works According to the Russian history, Catherine II, Empress
of Russia, died under questionable circumstances involving a horse. If you ask someone who has a fondness for history or urban legends, though, you'll learn that the story isn't true. Catherine II really died of a stroke, and no horses were present. The
story of Catherine the Great and the horse isn't a recent invention -- it started out as gossip more than 200 years ago. It's
not just a juicy story; it's a good illustration of the nature of gossip: It's almost impossible to figure out who told the story first. Historians believe that the French upper class
created the rumor in an attempt to destroy Catherine's reputation. It started as a malicious attempt to slander someone and possibly to
improve the social standing of the people who made up the story. When people repeat it today, they believe it is true, in
spite of its inherent outlandishness. The tale is persistent and widespread.
It's stayed around for hundreds of years, and no matter how many historians refute it, people still pass it on. It's the kind of tidbit most people can't help spreading around, even if they've resolved to spend less
time gossiping. Even though some of the details might have changed, the
core of the story is the same as it was 200 years ago. In this respect, real gossip is different from the "telephone
game" often used to teach children about its hazards.
Characteristics of Gossip
When studying gossip, we don't all use the same definition. Most of us start with the same basic idea: Gossip
is a conversation between two people that concerns a third person who is not present. Different people then add a range of
stipulations, such as: The
conversation takes place in private. The people talking are transmitting information as though it is a fact, but they have not confirmed the information
as factual. The people gossiping
and the person being gossiped about know each other in real life.
Lets look at this example, the sentence "Wanjiru got a puppy" sounds pretty neutral. But if Wanjiru lives
in a Kenya Medical Training college dorm that doesn't allow pets and the person speaking sounds scandalized, the sentence
becomes gossip. A fairly basic definition of gossip can therefore be “ When two people talk about a third, absent person and the conversation
includes undertones of judgment or secrecy, it's gossip.
Gossip is full of contradictions. People do it even though they think they shouldn't.
Gossip can bolster one person's reputation while destroying others, and it can establish a trusting bond between two people
while betraying the trust of a third. People who gossip too much can develop a reputation for being untrustworthy or too talkative.
But people who don't gossip can develop a reputation for being distant, uptight or snobbish. These fictional examples explore
the different sides of gossip and its moral implications.
A common use for gossip is when people compare themselves
favorably to others, raising their own status within a social circle while lowering someone else's. False or slanderous gossip
usually works in much the same way
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