I’m going to try completely stop something. It’s something I’ve tried before; I doubt I succeeded for very long. Most of us take part in it quite often and are so consumed by it that we couldn’t even point it out at all. It’s one of those things that is the most uncomfortable to point out, especially while it’s happening. You will never get an admission or an apology or even a delay in what’s going on. Most likely a string of justifications or excuses as to why its ok this time, or at the very least straight-up denial or an exclamation saying ‘it’s not that big of deal.’
It’s gossip. It’s one of those sins that is always mentioned but never pointed out because most of us enjoy it. If we aren’t the one telling a funny, embarrassing or annoying story about someone else we are the ones listening and smirking at the stupidity of someone else. I’m the first one to admit that it’s a tough one for me. It’s so easy to point out other’s faults than to accept my own. It’s more fun to make someone else than laugh at yourself. It makes us feel good and accepted when we can make other feel not accepted. The longer I have been a Christian the more I see this disease spread.
I remember speaking about this a few years back in Sarnia. It was rampant in the youth group there, and everyone and I thought at the time it was a youth group or an old lady thing. Some in the group would say that our youth group was horrible for gossip and that’s why they didn’t want to go. It made sense; I wouldn’t want to go either if they were talking about me. Then I came to Tyndale, and I think I only noticed things get worse, in my own life too. Why did I find such a need to talk about people all the time? Was it for a conversation piece? Couldn’t I think of something more interesting and beneficial to talk about?
In the first letter that Paul wrote to Timothy, he starts it off quite interesting. After his introduction he points out that there is a lot of ‘meaningless talk’ going on. People were just making up genealogies and myths and talking about them like they were true. The message translates the next few verses like this:
1 Timothy 5-7
The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love–love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip. They set themselves up as experts on religious issues, but haven’t the remotest idea of what they’re holding forth with such imposing eloquence.
First he points out that the whole point of everything is love. Gossip doesn’t happen when we truly love our neighbors. The verse pretty much speaks for itself. Lack love and you’ll soon find yourself being a one-man tabloid. Then it goes further. Not only are you talking about other people and putting them down, you’ll start to talk about issues like you are the guru of them. We’ll fall prey to religious practice and not have the slightest clue of what were missing out on.
Ephesians 5:3-5
Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.
You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them–the usual variations on idolatry–will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.
This set of verses has the same order. Make sure you are loving, cause if you don’t you’ll fall into gossip (and a whole slew of other things) which eventually turns into pointless religious practice. If we don’t love our neighbor, they are probably no more to us than either an obstacle that gets in the way of us getting what we want or a step for us to step on to get us what we want. Either way, it becomes about us and that is never the point.
So as a new challenge to myself, and hopefully to others, especially in my Tyndale community I hope that we can stray away from talking about each other like its funny or like its ok and start loving each other. It’s not funny; it’s not ok. It’s walking without love. We need to stop. May God give us strength.
i never really thought about gossip that way. the cul-de-sac really provides a strong visual. good call, i really need to stop gossiping, even ‘harmless’ gossip… there’s so much else to talk about without putting others down. thanks for the realization.