Guest Writer: Caleb Colley – Profane and Vain Babblings, Part 6
Gossip
Jesus said “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Colley and Webster commented on Jesus’ statement: “What Jesus is saying, of course, is that we will be judged by what we say…which means that God is listening to all 450 million words” we say during our lifetimes.i We will be judged for the “idle” words—those words we say when we’re not thinking. This destroys the excuse “I didn’t mean to say it—I just said it without thinking.” Gossip often is a large part of our idle talk. No person, young or old, may gossip and follow the golden rule (Matthew 7:12).
You may be thinking “Quit blowing things out of proportion. Gossip is not that big a deal.” Gossip may seem insignificant when we gossip about others. But when we find out that others have been gossiping about us, then we see gossip for the terrible evil it is. Of course, if we’re reading our Bibles, we are well-informed about the problem of gossip. “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people…” (Leviticus 19:16). “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter” (Proverb 11:13). “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends” (16:28). “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body” (18:8; cf. 26:22). “He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips” (20:19). “The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue an angry countenance” (25:23). “Where there is no wood, the first goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife…. He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself” (26:20-21, 24).
Some may say “We have to talk about people when we fellowship as Christians.” Of course, Christian fellowship is extremely important (Galatians 6:1-2,10; Philippians 2:1-2; Colossians 3:12-13, etc.), but we can talk about people in positive, constructive ways. In the first letter to Timothy, among Paul’s instructions about care for widows, we find this injunction: “But refuse the younger widows…. [T]hey learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not” (5:11,13; cf. 1 Peter 2:1). Many of us have some free time, but we must not use that free time for purposes of gossiping.
i Colley, Glenn, and Chuck Webster (2005), GET REAL: A Teenage Class Book for Now (Huntsville, AL: Colley Publications). p. 8.
