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Tall Tales
by chris brent Tall Tales Proverbs 18:8 "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts." When you hear the word gossip what do you think of? Have you ever wondered what people may or may not have said about you or someone you love and how many people your story went through before it reached the end? People seemed so attracted to gossip either because they are curious or revengeful. I also really believe some people are truly concerned but they are expressing it in the wrong way when they choose to spread the word. I have seen Christians sit there in church and say Praise the Lord. Not but an hour later they would be gossiping about what happened to this person or that group of people. It is really detestable. To hear that from a Christian or any body else. Gossip really sets up a stumbling block for the receiving end. That person who has the information, wether it is true or not, they have the temptation of judging that person or spreading the story themselves. I would like to share an example of gossip that affected my life. I was going to start a car detailing business and I had talked to somebody about being my partner. We seemed to agree to meet to talk about it. Well, then a friend of mine called me on the phone and said that a friend that she was talking to stated that my future business partner was bad mouthing me about the business. My friend was trying to show concern but who knows if she had all the facts or not. I was angry at first and I avoided that situation for a while. I knew I had to reconcile here or it would get worse. It turns out that when I talked to him he said that he did not say those things. A relationship could have been destroyed because of gossip. You never know exactly how a person's personality is going to effect the story that they have just heard. Gossip is a unfortunate valuable tool that the Enemy uses to destroy relationships. I once heard a quote from a preacher about this very same subject, "If it does not directly effect you than stay out of it." This quote really has some relevance. I am not saying that we should not have concern. We can show that concern by praying for that person without digging in a persons personal life. "Thank you Lord for your word to guide us. Heavenly Father, help us to show concern for others but not hurt them by spreading rumors about them. Help us not to listen but to flee from stories that go around in our daily atmosphere. Even though people may spread gossip about me I know that I am your child and that You look at what is in the heart. In Jesus name Amen." Copyright 2006 Chris Brent I hate gossip it can be so destructive and habitual. I prefer not to know people's business and I do not want to be lied about. It is such a web to weave out of. chris brent [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |