Theme
God detests gossip because it slowly poisons His Body by poisoning relationships.
God detests gossip
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The Bible also calls gossip; slander, speaking evil of another, whispering rumors.
Exodus 23:1 (ESV)
“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.
Leviticus 19:16 (ESV)
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NLT)
16 There are six things the LORD hates – no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,
18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong,
19 a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers.
Gossip acts like a slow poison to the whole body
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It poisons youth group!
Gossip poisons your school because it causes damage to relationships as it travels. And you can never retrace it’s journey to repair the damage that was caused.
Gossip Makers
Yiddish folklore offers a telling tale about gossip-makers. One such man had told so many malicious untruths about the local rabbi that, overcome by remorse, he begged the rabbi to forgive him. “And, Rebbe, tell me how I can make amends.”
The rabbi sighed, “Take two goose feather pillows, go to the public square and these cut the pillows open. Wave them in the air. Then come back.”
The rumormonger quickly went home, go two goose feather pillows and a knife, hastened to the square, cut the pillows open, waved them in the air and hastened back to the rabbi. “I did just what you said, Rebbe!”
“Good.” The rabbi smiled. “Now, to realize how much harm is done by gossip, go back to the square.”
“And?”
“And collect all your feathers.”
– From Hooray for Yiddish
It poisons your friendships!
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Proverbs 16:28 (ESV)
A dishonest man spreads strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9 (ESV)
Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Have you ever had a friendship injured by rumors or gossip?
Then you have experienced how gossip poisons friendships.
It poisons your reputation!
Proverbs 11:13 (ESV)
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,
but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
Proverbs 20:19 (ESV)
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
Realize this! If you speak gossip you are poisoning someone’s reputation. And, you are poisoning your reputation! The person that passes on information to you about someone else has just shown you that they cannot be trusted. They are, as the Proverb says, a simple babbler.
It poisons slowly!
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Going fishing with my special bait
Once upon a time Ben decided to ask Brittany if she would like to go fishing. Brittany said, “sure! As long as I don’t have to put the worms on the hook.” Ben said, “No problemo! I’ll put on my special bait for you.”
So Wednesday after school Ben and Brittany went fishing. Ben reached into his bag of special bait and put some on his hook … reached in again and put some on Brittany’s hook. They caught some big fish that day and had so much fun they decided to go again on Thursday. When Thursday came Ben did the same thing … He reached into his bag of special bait and put some on his hook … reached in again and put some on Brittany’s hook. Brittany noticed that Ben was having trouble with his arm. Ben said that it was just sore from Baseball practice. They caught some big fish that day and had so much fun they decided to go again on Friday. Friday came and Ben did the same thing … he reached into his bag of special bait and put some on his hook … reached in again and put some on Brittany’s hook. Brittany noticed Ben’s arm was swollen and had all these blackish -greenish bruises all over it. Ben said, “yeah, it’s kinda numb and tingly and turning black. They caught some big fish that day.
Well, they didn’t see each other all weekend and when Monday came Brittany was looking for Ben at school but could not find him. She went to the office after lunch to see if he was OK. The secretary, Mrs. Pardfudpuckle, said that Ben was in the hospital. “Oh No!,” exclaimed Brittany. “What’s wrong?” “Well”, said Mrs. P. “They had to cut his arm off. You see he thought he was using special bait when he went fishing but it turned out to be baby rattlesnakes.”
Gossip takes time to circulate. As it makes it’s travels it poisons the reputation of people it is focused on. And, it poisons the people who are carriers.
How do you respond to gossip?
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Now where it comes from
Matthew 15:19 (ESV)
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Luke 6:45 (ESV)
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Gossip, slander comes from an evil heart. The words and actions of a person show the type of person they are. Chances are if they don’t talk and act like a follower of Jesus then they’re not a follower of Jesus. And evil person is going to do evil things.
Rev. 12:10 (ESV)
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
When someone slanders, gossips, they are acting exactly like Satan, the accuser.
Refuse to listen to gossip
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If someone says, “I hope you don’t mind me telling you this,” it’s pretty certain you will.
Another thing you could do is to refuse to listen to anything unless the person being discussed is present.
What are the problems you might encounter if you refuse to listen to gossip?
Refuse to speak gossip
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James 1:19-21 (ESV)
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; [20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. [21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
· T – Is it true?
· H – Is it helpful?
· I – Is it inspiring?
· N – Is it necessary?
· K – Is it kind?
THINK is by Alan Redpath
Remember this simple formula before speaking to or about any person. If what you are about to say does not pass those tests, THEN KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!
Deadly Microbe
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Gossip is the most deadly microbe. It has neither legs nor wings. It is composed entirely of tales, and most of them have stings.