“I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you truy, the more elusive I become. I am nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and wreck marriages. I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion. I spawn suspicion and generate grief. I make innocent people cry in their pillows. Even my names hisses. I am called Gossip. Office Gossip. Shop Gossip. Telephone Gossip. Church Gossip. I make headlines and headaches.[1]
One of the worst sins in God’s lists (cf. Romans 1:28-32) is gossip. While gossip may not take a physical life it can take a spiritual one. While gossip may not pull the trigger of the gun, it can pull the trigger of the spiritual one. While gossip is not a physical fire, it is a spiritual one (James 3:5-6). High schoolers gossip at lockers, women gossip at meetings, men gossip at work water fountains, preachers gossip at luncheons, and church members gossip about others right in the pews! Unfortunately, many will find out that their mouths might lead them to hell faster than their hands. Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).
Since gossip is hell-bound, Christians should have their tongues bound. Tongues should be handled with care and not be so quick to speak (James 1:19). Dangerously often, this sin is practiced by many, and sadly, many will go to judgement being lost because of their defenses, determination, and dive into this sin. It is one of the most accepted, justified, and overlooked sin in the church.
The English word gossip is not found in some older versions (KJV, ASV, YLT), but it is found in some newer ones (ESV, NASB). What is gossip? Gossip is not just the communication of information (1 Corinthians 1:11; 2 Timothy 4:14), for some matters must be discussed (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Timothy 5:20). Gossip is “informal talk or stories about other people’s private lives, which may be unkind or not true.”[2] The Old English godsibb means”
sponsor, godparent,” from God + sibb “relative” (see sibling). The sense was extended in Middle English to "a familiar acquaintance, a friend, neighbor" (c. 1300), especially to women friends invited to attend a birth, later to "anyone engaging in familiar or idle talk" (1560s).[3]
While not every word is gossip, it could be gossip if:
One’s motive is wrong (selfishness, marring reputation, etc.).
Facts are not accurate.
Consequences of words are not pondered.
Let’s TALK about the sin of gossip looking at five Bible words.
Whisperer.
The word “whisperer”, whisperers,” “whisper”, and “whispers” occur 5 times in the Bible (Psalm 41:7; Proverbs 16:28; Isaiah 29:4; Romans 1:29; 2 Corinthians 12:20). The Hebrew words are lâchash and nirgân. The first word describes one who is a charmer and the second word literally means to roll in pieces. The Greek words psithurismos and psithuristēs describe one who is a secret culminator. The words are an onomatopoeia, which is “the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.”[4] What does a whisperer do?
Whisperers do their work in the dark. Tom Wacaster wrote:
Whisperers are cowardly sneaks who have not the courage to come out in the open and say damaging
things about others, but secretly peddle their slanderous
statements and insinuations against the object or objects of their campaign of spite. They usually add: “Be sure not to use my name in connection with the matter, for I do not want to get mixed up in the mess.” Such characters have been aptly termed “snakes in the grass.”[5]
Whisperers secretly defame another’s character. They want to know all the details found in the light, but always ask and research in the dark. They may use phrases like:
“Did you hear about this…”
“shhh can I tell you something away from everyone else?”
“Don’t tell people I told you this but…”
They say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, here, come sit by me.”[6]
Whisperers do their work to destroy. David said that those that hate him “whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt” (Psalm 41:7). The outcome of a whisperer is always negative, especially to character or reputation. Even subtle jabs or passive aggressive comments may be considered as gossip. Whisperers like to ignite division and divide unity (Proverbs 16:28). Some whisperers use truth as ammunition; however, they forget that maliciousness behind the sharing of truthful information is still gossip.
Whisperers do their work with defenses. Most whisperers excuse their whispering. Since it is subtle, private, and behind closed doors, they reason with “its not a big deal.” They may excuse it by concluding:
“Well I’m just concerned.”
“This isn’t really gossip”
“I have a right to tell a friend when we are alone.”
“Everyone knows about it.”
Whisperers forget they are never truly alone (cf. Proverbs 15:3). “Give no approving eye and no approving ear to a malicious tongue” is a good proverb.
“Two excited women who were sitting together in the front pew of church with a fiery preacher. They were in the spirit and loving the message. They were shouting out and waving their hankies. They would use their paper fan to wave for Jesus and then to cool themselves off fearing they might just ‘get the vapors.’ When this preacher condemned the sin of lust, these two ladies cried out at the top of their lungs... AMEN... BROTHER! So the preacher camped out and stomped the dickens out of those who lust. When the preacher moved on and condemned the sin of stealing, they yelled again....PREACH IT REVEREND! And he did… for 15 minutes. Then the preacher condemned the sin of lying.... and they jumped to their feet and screamed, RIGHT ON BROTHER.... TELL IT LIKE IT IS.....AMEN! After another 30 minutes of raking liars over the coals and dangling them over the flames of hell the preacher condemned the sin of gossip. The two women sat down, got quiet looked in the other direction. The preacher, fearing he was losing his audience preached even harder against the unloving, unchristian tongues that were set on fire by Satan. Still the women were quiet. Finally the preacher stopped and asked… “Ladies don’t you like to hear good old-fashioned, fire and brimstone preachin’?’ One of the women responded sarcastically… O yes Reverend, we love good strong preachin’ but you done quit preaching and gone to meddlin'.”
Pierre de Marivaux said, “Some people will believe anything if it is whispered to them.” Stay away from whispering.
Stay tuned for next week's article entitled "Gossip in Five Words--Talebearing and Backbiting."
Endnotes
[2]Oxford Dictionary.
[4]Online dictionary.
[5]Tom Wacaster, Studies in Romans A Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the church at Rome, Sain Publications, 2016, Ed. 2, 54.
[6]PTP lesson.
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