Walking with the Wise #470: Godless Gossip

“As surely as a north wind brings rain,


so a gossiping tongue causes anger!”
—Proverbs 25:23 (NLT)

Gossip, according to the dictionary, is a “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true” and is used primarily in a derogatory manner toward a person who likes sharing information about their private life. It is one of the most overlooked sins because it can so easily be hidden behind spiritual language. For example, you can offer up a prayer request for a person you don’t like, or have issue with in a group; you can share this "prayer request" with a fellow Christian and then use it as a guise to tell all of the juicy tidbits of that person’s life, demeaning them and feeling good about yourself in the process. But gossips inevitably cause anger among those who are affected by their harmful words, and they may have to pay accordingly for it if the wrong person hears them.

The Christ-life means abandoning self-promotion, for you cannot exalt Christ and yourself at the same time. It means not bringing others down, but lifting them up. Even if it is our enemy, we are to seek their good (Proverbs 25:21-22). It's not easy to do, but God has never called us to an easy life, but one that is diametrically opposed to our fallen flesh. Jesus sought our good when we were strangers, without God, and without hope in the world (Ephesians 2:1-2); therefore we need to adopt the same attitude as He, using our words to edify, encourage, and evangelize those around us so that they may come to know Jesus, the Savior of the world. Amen.