What the Bible says about gossip

I have been thinking a lot about gossip lately. This has been because of the endless media reports about Tiger Woods, Michael Clarke and other “celebrities”. It seems as a society we are addicted to gossip and it fuels so much of our media.

What is gossip according to the dictionary?

So what is gossip? My kids dictionary described it very simply…

• Gossip is informal conversation, often about people’s private affairs
• Someone who is a gossip enjoys talking about other people’s private affairs
• If you gossip, you talk informally with someone, especially about other people

From this we can see it about talking about other people’s private business to a third person or group of people.

What does the Bible say about gossip?

But what does the Bible say about gossip? I looked through my concordance to find some verses. They paint a picture of what God says about gossip.

1. Gossip can betray confidences

Proverbs 11:13 - A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

2. Gossip can separate friends

3. Gossip makes quarrels last longer

Proverbs 26:20 - Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.

4. When we gossip we can slander others

Leviticus 19:16 - Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour's life. I am the LORD.

5. People who gossip are wicked

Romans 1:29-30 - They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

6. Christians should not gossip, but should take care of their own homes

1 Timothy 5:13 - Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.

Conclusion

Now these are only a few verses, but you can see they paint a very negative picture. They do not help the situation or build others up. If fact they are quite destructive.

So how do we know if we are gossiping? I remember hearing a sermon about it many years ago that has always stayed with me.

The preacher said, “If you are not part of the problem or part of the solution, then it might just be gossip”.

I think in our gossip obsessed society, this is a good place to start. Let’s not involve ourselves in other people’s private business today, unless we are part of the problem or part of the solution.