Gossip

Dorma Guice
Apr 29, 2021
5 min read

Updated: Nov 14, 2021

Definition: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true*

Approximate Number of Occurrences in Scripture (41)

Read: Luke 24:13-34 for full context of this account

Luke 24:17-18 (NIV) 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

That Was Then

Imagine coming off of accomplishing the greatest feat in your life. Everyone in town is talking about it. You overhear two strangers gossiping about you so you ask them to share, only to find that they have no clue what really happened. This is what Jesus (the most gossiped about person in history) was met with the day he resurrected from the dead. Having been publicly tried, beaten, dragged through the streets practically naked and dying a criminal’s death just two days prior, there was not a person in town who didn’t witness it firsthand or hear about it. Countless others either beheld his miracles and caught his teachings or at least heard about them over a 3½ year period. So Jesus wasn’t troubled to find two men on the road to Emmaus talking about his crucifixion as everything they said up to that point was true. The problem was they were miscommunicating the facts concerning his resurrection.

The slippery slope with gossip is that it is often partially true, yet unverified information. The men said that they “hoped” Jesus was the one who would redeem Israel, but now that he’s dead it’s too late (Luke 24:21 ",,, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place"). They also shared that some women who visited the tomb told them the body was gone and an angel appeared saying Jesus had risen, but that’s just crazy.

Calling them fools, Jesus put an abrupt end to their gossip and set the record straight. Interestingly enough, He didn’t show them the nail marks in his hands and feet, but walked them through the scriptures; proving by example that the Word of GOD is the highest truth and the go-to source to eliminate all doubt. Although He rebuked them for not believing the prophets, He also taught them from the beginning all the scriptures concerning Him. (see vs. 25-27).

Jesus wanted to do more than just correct their doctrine. He sought to solidify their faith so their future messages about His death, burial and resurrection will not only be accurate, but cause others to put their faith in Him. So He went a step further (or pretended to anyway). Realizing it was getting late, the men invited Jesus to stay and have dinner with them to continue the conversation. When He prayed and broke bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Then He left – only to have to do it all over again with the eleven disciples who were gossiping about Him (Luke 24:36-49).

This is Now

Psssst! Come closer… I don’t want anybody to overhear. Take me off speaker. put your headphones on or turn down the volume. Have you heard about Rose? What?!!! OMG, have you been hiding under a rock? Well, I heard from Lilly that she had lunch with Daisy last week who told her Rose’s husband Dan (you know, Dandelion) got fired and replaced by Iris; that hot young Business Analyst who slept her way to the top suddenly got promoted to Dan’s position. But that’s not the half of it. Poor Rose was hit with the bombshell that Dan made some risky investments with Basil and some shady dude who goes by "Sweet William", who made off with all their savings and they’re going to have to sell that huge house - the one they hosted last year's Church Christmas Bazaar from (pause for reaction, girl). Tsk, such an awful thing. Now they have to uproot their two kids (Heather and Jasmine) and move across town to the ghetto. Hmmm, there must be something deeper going on here for GOD to allow this to happen. You know I’m not one to gossip, right? I’m just telling you so you can keep them in prayer.

How often are you party to conversations like this? Are you repulsed or riveted? Does this incite a “get behind me Satan” or “go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere” reaction? In other words, are you more likely to shut it down or stoke the fire? Gossip, far more than just a titillating form of communication, is a toxic weapon with a singular mission – seek and destroy. The person deploying the juicy tidbit is deceived into thinking they can control the gossip’s course (just how fast and far it can spread), but little time passes before it spontaneously detonates, destroying everything in its path – even the instigator. From its origin, gossip was destined to be a loner. It has no friends, makes no friends and wants no friends. It is an equal opportunity villain that shows no favoritism, has no off button, and won’t stop until it is confronted by a soldier trained to alter its course and diffuse it. In many cases, by then it’s too late. Multitudes of people, friendships, marriages, reputations, careers, and lives are ruined behind this napalm-filled chat.

Gossip, like even the deadliest weapon of mass destruction, can do no harm without a target and someone to deploy it. Not one to sit idle, it constantly seeks operators. Likely candidates are prone to insecurity, low self-esteem, jealousy, envy, bitterness, covetousness, discontentment, boredom, and passive aggressive tendencies to name a few. A vulnerable operator armed with such a deadly weapon disguised as “breaking news” suddenly experiences a feeling of empowerment that momentarily distracts him/her from their miserable state and inducts them into the deceptively exclusive club of people in-the-know. With their trigger finger now burning, the next phone call, text or fellowship is all they need to fire! But to their shock and dismay, the conversation is interrupted with “did you hear what Violet said about you”?

Who Said That?!!!

"There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it behooves most of us not to talk about the rest of us.” – Unknown**

What Do You Say?

AFFIRMATION: "I don't say anything about anyone that I wouldn't want said about me."

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