Torn Apart in Aisle 9
My heart heavy, I was tempted to park my grocery cart and interrupt their conversation. Though I hadn’t heard the entirety of their acidic discussion, I caught enough to know the four shoppers were deeply dissatisfied with individuals at their local church. Ironically, not one of them looked any happier for their venting. I didn’t know them, those they were talking about, or even their church, but I grieved over this verbal ripping apart of the body of Christ in a public store aisle.
of hobbies and gossip
A woman became engrossed in a new hobby. The activity itself was a healthy one, but the devoted wife and mother soon began to neglect her family and friends—even her walk with God.
don’t be evil
How does a cute, little baby grow up to become the face of evil? How does an Austrian boy become Adolf Hitler or a son of privilege turn into Osama bin Laden? And what makes one group of people slaughter members of a neighboring group? How could they possibly think that was a good idea?
words disperse
In the movie Doubt, a preacher told of a woman who confessed her sin of gossip to her priest. The man told her to first go home, take a pillow up onto her roof, cut it open, and then return. She did as instructed. Then the priest asked her what she saw. “Feathers everywhere, Father.” He said, “Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out onto the wind.” She protested, “It can’t be done. I don’t know where they went. The wind took them all over.” “And that,” replied the priest, “is gossip!”
true fulfillment
How many times have you, as I have, delved into sin—addiction, sexual impropriety, gossip, pride, unbridled anger, slothfulness, and more—in an attempt to mask the pain of life? It’s so easy to respond to emptiness, disappointment, or hurt by turning away from God’s commands.
stay hungry
It’s often more difficult to stay on top than it is to get there. This is true in sports: A young boxer trains hard as he fights his way through the ranks, but once he wins a championship he becomes lazy and loses his title to a new, hungrier challenger. This is also true in business. A rising star puts in long hours as she climbs the corporate ladder, but she loses her edge when she begins to enjoy the wealth and privileges that come with her success.
dishing dirt
Recently, I read about one woman’s struggle to stop gossiping. As the mother of a preschooler, Sandy confessed to dishing the dirt about other parents, and even spreading information about her son’s playmates. She knew it was wrong, so she tried to go “cold turkey.” When that didn’t work, she attempted to put a positive spin on other people’s business. Ultimately, she admitted that gossip’s grip would probably win out over time; she just couldn’t resist sharing one more juicy tidbit about a dad on the playground . . .
attractive gossip
Hazel Namandingo says that so many people have HIV and AIDS in her homeland of Malawi that singles often rely on gossip to figure out who is safe to date or marry. Accurate information can mean the difference between life and death—but as often happens when the stakes are so high, unfounded rumors start to fly. Hazel said that Malawians…
language of the heart
I’m more impressed by works than by words, which I often gloss over as nothing more than hot air. I’ve said, “Talk is cheap!” and “Don’t talk the talk if you won’t walk the walk.” According to the apostle James we’re right to value works over mere words. He reminds us that it does no good to tell a poor…
a little is too much
There’s something so tempting about the antisocial delicacy of gossip. We enjoy it, even when it makes us feel guilty and ashamed. According to researchers, however, we don’t have to feel ashamed anymore because a little gossip is healthy. The researchers believe gossip is what keeps the culture going, greasing the social machine. “It’s a social skill, not a character…
comes back around
As a youth pastor’s wife, I have plenty of opportunities to practice conflict resolution skills with those in our ministry. Especially in working with the girls. Gossip, however, is not limited to the female gender or to young adults (as my husband and I discovered at a dinner party a few weeks back). Recently, though, I had an opportunity to…
the grapevine
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1966, was recorded by Gladys Knight and the Pips and later by Marvin Gaye. It became one of the biggest hits on the Motown label. Its point was that while the telegraph is obsolete, the informal transmission of information, gossip, or rumor from person…
have you had enough?
A 2008 Barna Group survey asked adults what immoral behaviors they had engaged in during the past week. Of those surveyed: 28 percent had used profanity, 20 percent had gambled, 19 percent had viewed pornography, 12 percent had gossiped, 12 percent had gotten drunk, 11 percent had lied, 9 percent had sex outside of marriage.
The survey also revealed devastating…
