irl…guess what?!?!
Just then, I bet your ears perked up, you
can’t wait to hear what I’m about to say. I’ve
heard those words a thousand times (and
probably said them just as many). Those
eager words, dripping with the juiciness of
some sweet morsel of info that you just have
to hear, words that often creep up out of
nowhere and bring a dull, dry conversation
to life. They turn many eager heads toward
them, waiting, anticipating, practically dying
to know just what it is.
And then it comes, the newest info on who
got arrested, who got fired, who saw who’s
mate with another person. You take it all in,
give your two cents, judge the parties involved, and feel as though you are a special
member of an exclusive club, completely
oblivious and without care as to the validity and truthfulness of the “news” you’ve just
heard, all you know is that you just got the
scoop and you’re “in the loop.” When the
conversation is over, you hang up the phone,
only to dial the number of another friend.
As soon as she picks up, “Girrrrrrl…guess
what?!?” And it starts all over again.
Its gossip.
More likely than not, you’ve engaged in it,
sometimes against your better judgment
and sometimes shamelessly. It’s everywhere
around us, at the water cooler in the break
room at work, at your luncheon with your
best girlfriends and even at the checkout in
your grocery store you can’t help but see all
the celebrity magazines telling you who is
getting divorced, having plastic surgery or
making a serious fashion violation.
Gossip has become such a part of our daily
lives and our culture that many of us may
Page 14
The Word of God says something very different about gossip.
Proverbs 20:19 tells us that “A gossip betrays
a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too
much.”
Have you ever heard someone say “If
________ will tell you somebody else’s business, then they’ll tell yours too?” it’s true…
there is no trust or confidence in a gossip.
People who live to run their mouths about
things that don’t concern them can’t be your
real friend because you can never know what
they will say behind your back. And if a person’s primary topic of conversation is other
people, it could be an indication that they
are trying to hide things about themselves
or aren’t completely comfortable in the skin
they’re in. People who are truly about noble
causes and the business of our Heavenly
Father are too busy loving others and doing
it up for The Kingdom to be involved in such
messy habits.
So what should you d