Stop the Gossip!

Oh the trouble that this piece of flesh that wags between our jaws can cause! And that is true within a church family! Having been in pastoral ministry for some 30 years now, I have seen many a fire started when people couldn't control their tongues! Here's what God has to say about the tongue:

"Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:5-6)  

Chuck Swindoll, in his book, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, has this to say about the tongue: "The tongue is capable of prying open more caskets, exposing more skeletons in the closet, and stirring up more choking, scandalous dust than any other tool on earth."  He then goes on to offer the following four suggestions for silencing rumor-mongers: 

1. Identify sources by name. So if someone shares something damaging about another person ask the person for their source.

2. Support the evidence with facts. Don't listen to hearsay. It's usually easy to know when someone is just passing on something they have heard (that is empty of truth).

3. Ask the person, "May I quote you?"  If you ask this, be prepared for the gossip to either turn about 35 different shades of red or begin to backpedal fast!

4. Openly admit, "I don't appreciate hearing this!"  This approach is for the strong of heart and may not be received too well. But as Swindoll points out, "it's a sure way to halt the garbage delivery to your ears!"

So ... if all of us would simply listen more and talk less. And when we do talk, refuse to be part of the gossip superhighway! Instead, follow what God has to say about our speech in Ephesians 4:29.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj