Thursday; August 31

What do you do when you hear someone gossip? I am sure that some of us join in and add to the discussion, but a lot of us probably just listen. We don’t fan the fire of negativity, but we don’t squelch it either. Maybe we merely nod in agreement or even fain interest, but we don’t do anything to put it to an end. Now the reason I bring this up isn’t (necessarily) to critique our passive complicity in gossip as much as to remind us that if people are talking to us about others, they are probably talking about us to others. There is no way that we should expect to be free from being gossiped about when we associate with people who gossip. I am almost certain that when we are outside of earshot, the target becomes us.

The wise man of Proverbs reminds us, “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with a gossip.” (Proverbs 20:19). It is engrained in the nature of gossips to talk about others, we shouldn’t expect to be exempted from the criticism. Now, while we can’t do anything about what people say about us when we are away from them, we can try to help break the cycle of gossip when we hear it. By not tolerating it, we make it more uncomfortable for gossiping to go on unchecked.

When people start to talk about others, let’s think about what we’d like others to do when they start talking about us. Who knows, maybe when enough of us object, we can change the way the people in our groups communicate.

Think About It!

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