Gossip

It seems to me that I have posted on this subject before, but I don't see 'gossip' in my list of keywords, so maybe I haven't...

Mark Twain once said, "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." And that was before the internet. The nice thing about the Internet, though, is that the truth can sometimes get out there pretty quickly, too. Realistically, though, you don't really know who posted what on the Internet. You can find some reputable sites on the Internet, with good information, but even they will get fooled, sometimes. We need to be on our guard.

To be honest, though, on the subject of gossip, I am considerably less concerned about what's on the Internet than I am what we say about each other. It's not unusual for those of us who call ourselves Christians to get caught up when repeating something we've heard, without checking the source, or speculating out loud--giving someone else the opportunity to repeat something that they have heard... Sometimes, too, we paraphrase something that was accurate when we heard it. Remember that game we played in Elementary school, where the teacher lined us up, and whispered something to one of us, and had that person repeat what they heard and so on, and the last person in line repeated to the class what he or she thought they had heard? Most of us laughed when we heard it, because it didn't match what we heard, and then when the teacher told us what the original message was, we had three different versions of the same message. This happens to adults, too. Someone will make a prayer request, and it gets paraphrased, and then repeated, and paraphrased some more, and before long, it bears no relation to the original prayer request. We had a woman at our church last year that requested prayer for her daughter's health, and by the time the prayer request got to the pastors, the request had something to do with this woman being thrown in jail (not that she had been, that's just how badly the message got mangled). That is an extreme example; it is somewhat more likely that a couple requests prayer that God would strengthen their marriage, and within twenty four hours, people are talking about this couple getting a divorce. We owe it to our brothers and sisters in the faith, that if we are passing on information, that we pass it on correctly.

Furthermore, just because something is true, it doesn't necessarily follow that it bears repeating. Let us suppose that our brother Joe goes on a drinking binge. It's only the one time, he managed to get through it without hurting himself or anyone else (he was lucky), and he has repented of it before God. Does it do anyone any good to talk about his past indiscretion? You might make a case that we, as loving, caring brothers and sisters, need to be aware, and stand ready to intervene if he starts heading that way again, but if it's been a year, and he hasn't gone near a bar or a liquor store, then what point would there be in talking about it? What if you were the one who made a mistake a year ago, and even though you have repented, and gone through counseling with your pastor, and you know that God has forgiven you, but your brothers and sisters in Christ are still talking about it? Tell me you wouldn't feel betrayed. You should feel betrayed. You might even pray, asking God to send you to another church (don't just up and leave, but pray about it, and listen to God).

It really comes down to this: Do unto others, and let brotherly love continue.