What dainty
morsels rumors are—but they sink deep into one’s heart.
Proverbs 18:8 NLT
How often does
gossip affect your life?
I’m sorry to say
that it used to be a daily temptation of mine.
In a place where I
used to work, gossip passed through the place like a platter of warm cookies,
delicious and irresistible. Too often, I took cookie after cookie from that
secretly dangerous plate. I even shared those cookies with others.
Why are rumors and
gossip so appealing to us?
I once knew a
Bible study friend who lived a simple life. She candidly admitted that the
drama of rumors appealed to her sense of excitement, which she felt was missing
from her rather mundane yet godly living.
The lonelier we
feel, the tighter grip rumors and gossip can have on us. Gossip and rumors can
make us feel important, in-the-know, and on the side with the “cool kids.”
I think that’s why
I’ve savored gossip and rumors like dainty morsels before.
But gossip and
rumors have a deadly effect. In the Bible, gossip is grouped with sins like murder,
greed and hate. God doesn’t want us to participate in these sins because he
knows the destructive power of cutting words. He wants us to actively build
relationships instead of tearing them down. He wants us to overlook offenses
and honor secrets.
As a freelance
writer, I often write articles for dentists. One thing I’ve learned over the
past year is the importance of yearly dental checkups. The dental assistant has
the dirty job of scraping plaque from underneath your gums. I never understood
why this is important until I began writing dental articles.
If you don’t
remove plaque from under your gums, it can travel to your arteries and cause
blockage in your heart. The plaque left over from food can cause heart attacks
or strokes, which are leading causes of death in the U.S. Gross, but true. And
easily preventable with a healthier diet.
Gossip and rumors
work the same way. They may taste delicious in the moment as we savor the
momentary excitement they bring. But their toxic residue silently travels to
our hearts where it can do the most damage. It can block our relationship with
God and others and even put our eternal salvation at risk.
It’s hard to see
the internal damage too many chocolate chip cookies can cause, just like it’s
hard to see the damage of listening to a rumor or sharing one piece of gossip.
But the Bible warns us against it, and we must follow God’s commands if we want
to live a spiritually healthy life.
Too many cookies can cause invisible internal damage, just like rumors and gossip.
God tells us that
we can bear spiritual fruit if we open our hearts to his Spirit. Fruit is
healthy for our bodies and our spirits. Spiritual fruit improves relationships;
it never destroys them like gossip or rumors do.
The next time you
are tempted to listen to a rumor or share a bit of gossip, immediately ask the
Holy Spirit to guard your tongue or cover your ears. Offer an arrow prayer for
courage and strength to resist the temptation. Then walk away and let Jesus
wrap his arms around you. Your spiritual heart will be stronger after the
challenge, friend.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings and God's peace to you,
Photo from Canva.com
Reflection questions:
1. When are you most tempted by gossip or rumors?
2. What will you do differently next time gossip or rumors tempt you?
This is such an important subject and one I need to hear often. Gossip is such an easy to slip into sin! If we don't stay vigilant, we'll find ourselves into it before we ever realize it. Scheduled for my "posts worth reading board."
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing my post, Donna. Blessings to you!
ReplyDelete