GOSSIPING

Three pastors went to the pastor convention and were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, "Let's confess our secret sins one to another. I'll start - my secret sin is I just love to gamble. When I go out of town, it's cha-ching cha-ching, let the machines ring."

The second pastor said, "My secret sin is that I just love to drink. When I go out of town, I like to take a little nip of something."

The third pastor said, "My secret sin is gossiping and I can't wait to get out of this room!"

Gossip is something we sometimes all fall into. What does God say about Gossip?

Proverbs13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction

Provers 10:19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise

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

1 Tim. 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.

When you think of Gossip, God thought it important to talk about in the bible because he gave it to us in one of the Ten Commandments.
Exod.20 "Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"

Sometimes in our lives we all like to hear a good juicy story. I know I have been guilty of it at times in my life. We sometimes forget how gossiping can be so damaging to someone else and to ourselves. Let's say you repeat something you were told by someone else to another party. Now maybe what you said was not 100% right and then that person tells someone else and they repeat it to someone else and there has been more added or taken away from the original truth, what kind of effect will that have on the person in question. You could dammage his or her reputation and you could dammage their lives. Gossip is not a good thing at all. You are also bearing false witnessed against that person and that is a sin.

I have to admit it is difficult sometimes to walk away from a good story. I am going to go further and I hope I do not offend anyone but I think women struggle more in gossip then men do. Women love to talk and many times it turns into gossip . When this begins someone should speak up and stop it before it gets out of hand. When I hear people call a group of women a bunch of "Cackling Hens" I can see why sometimes. I have done my share of cackling in which I am ashamed of and I repent of it.

In 1 Timothy 5:12-13 it speaks of widows and how they struggle with gossiping.
12Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13Besides, 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

Timothy spoke to the widows about entertaining the habit of gossiping.Women would go from home to home and listen about the home lives of other women and I think gossip about one another. That happens now a days too, women get together either over coffee or meetings or what even and open themselves up to gossip amongst one another. We need to be careful and not let that happen. Help each other when someone starts.

I think we should pray for one another but even in prayer I have heard prayers being used for gossip. Example.... We need to pray for Suzi because her daughter Maggy is pregnant and she is not married. We need to pray for John because he was seen coming out of a shop that sells dirty magazines. Let's pray. Now That is sad when we hear those types of prayers. I think in a situation like that, when there is a group of folks we can say lets pray for Suzi or John because they are struggling. God knows their needs.

Now I am not picking on women because men are just a s guilty of gossip. We all struggle sometime in our walk with gossip. Have you ever ask to keep a secret? It's hard to do sometimes, let's be honest. When someone shares something so private with you and asks you not to share it with anyone we should honor that request. I don't think we should even share it with our husbands and wives. It was meant to be confidential and that person is trusting us to keep it confident, right? A good verse for that is
Prverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up dissension,and a gossip separates close friends.

Don't we want to be a man or woman of intergerity? We want folks to trust us, don't we? We want to please God don't we? Well of course we do!

When you hear things like' "It is to good not to share....wow...that sounds like trouble to me." Leave at once, don't put yourself in temptations way, avoid people like that. If they are going to talk about someone else they surely are not going to keep you out of thier conversations. Gossipper will only tear down someone, avoid them at all costs.

Proverbs 20:19 A gossip betrays a confidence;so avoid a man who talks too much

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

Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.- ROGERS, WILL (1879-1935, ) hehe

Our speech tells others who we are, may we all avoid any type of words that will not bring Glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Please pray for me and my tongue, please pray what I say is edifying to the Lord.

Cristina