Seven Deadly Faces of Gossip

The human tongue is a mighty instrument. It can build up or destroy. Gossip can flare up things into great revolutions. It is a very dangerous one though it may seem to be harmless.

What does ‘Gossip’ mean?

Dictionaries explain the word “gossip” with the meaning   “to indulge in idle talk or rumors about others; spreading of sensational stories”. It is derived from the idea of “whispering.” Funk and Wagnals dictionary defines it as “an idle or malicious talk about others.”  Gossip engages in idle talk or rumors about others. It participates in bad-mouthing or spreading rumors about others. According to the Holy Bible, gossip is treated as severe as murder.

1) Tongue the mighty instrument

God made man with the unique ability to speak, sing, pray, and glorify God’s magnificent name. The same useful tongue of the worshipper can become involved in gossip which necessitates a godly rebuke from another of God’s faithful servants. The tongue is a mighty instrument for good, but most of the times the devil gets involved and if we give in the same tongue that is mighty for God becomes an instrument of evil destruction.

2) Tongue the mighty killer

“The tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. A small flame is enough to set a huge foreat on fire. The tongue is a similar flame. It is in itself a whole world of evil. It infects the whole being and sets fire to our world with every fire of hell.”(James 3: 5-6)

3) Gossip the murderer

As we can see, gossip is a close cousin to slander, and God’s Word places both slander and gossip in the same category as murder and wickedness. Both are sins worthy of death. St. Paul has says that gossips and bad-mouthers are in the same league as murderers, sexual perverts, and God haters and he declares that such sins are worthy of a death sentence!

4) The sinful nature of gossip

Gossip is wicked and sinful – a seething disease of corruption arising from the mouth. Gossips use their mouth as a weapon — a weapon which is always aimed at people to fulfill Satan’s desires to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). As Proverb says it kills and destroys the neighbor. “With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor” (Proverb 11:9).

5) Gossip is an enemy of God

Gossip is an enemy to God and everything that is holy. It is a deadly cancer which spreads as a deadly infection to the body of Christ. Not only does St. Paul place a gossip in the same league with murderers and sexual deviates, but also Jesus has warned that for “those who would offend his little ones, it would be better for them to be bound with a millstone and drowned in the sea” (Mark 9:42). Surely, a harsh and horrible punishment awaits those unrepentant gossips.

6) Gossip is deadly and ambiguous

Gossip is one of the most dangerous sins because it is so subtle and ambiguous that most of us are unable to recognize it. Be on alert against gossip whenever you hear of “secret information” being circulated, or if you hear anyone else’s name is used in a conversation. Gossip exists whenever persons “talk about others” in an unfavorable way. The root of gossip is always negativeness, judgementalism, slander, etc.

Proverb says, “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much” (Proverb 20:19. It is too difficult and ambiguous to realize the deadliness of gossip.

7) Gossip the deadly spider

The gossip is like a deadly spider looking for a prey to lure into their trap of gossiping. They may approach you and confide to you secrets or their private concerns about other people. Perhaps it may seem to you a kind of consolation and you may express your half-hearted agreement with their concerns, or you may even be enticed to confide your secret concerns to them. Consequently, the gossip will repeat the same process with someone else.  But be sure, next time, they will add your name as an endorsement of their private “issue,” and will eventually even disclose the secrets you shared to them. And on and on it goes till it hurts and kills.