Nougat 1

We continue our introspection on God’s expectations of the believer in today’s Holy Nougat

“Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Gossip

So easy to get caught up in. It usually begins innocently, our opinion is asked, we witness injustice or inappropriate behavior, or we experience a sense of loss of intimacy and before we realize, we are agents of gossip. Gossip usually has at least an ounce of truth, and often sounds plausible.

Some stories are true, but may be nuanced to imply more than occurred. An example, the ‘eye witness’ testimonies given at Jesus trial. In many cases, Jesus had said what they indicated, but His meaning was somewhat different. Jesus spoke to His body as God’s temple; He was not preparing to personally destroy the temple in Jerusalem. Their public sharing in the capacity of witnesses shifted the tenor of Jesus’ trial.

Additionally, the ones responsible for bringing the woman before Jesus on the grounds of adultery were also gossips. We know that they had extremely negative motives. And although it may be true, that they only presented the woman, but not the partner with whom she’d committed the act, can also be construed as gossip.

While these are somewhat extreme examples, they offer us a sense of the dangers affiliated with malicious gossip. I wish to add that when we participate in gossip we are also doing ourselves a disservice. How so? Aside from the spiritual implications, we also establish the reputation for chatting too much and folks might not trust us. Or they might exploit our loose lips to our detriment.

On the spiritual side, gossip is implied in the Ten Commandments (ie ‘bearing witness against another’) and in the case of the witnesses in Jesus’ trial, one might even consider Thou shall not kill.

The next time something juicy comes our way, we might ask ourselves whether sharing adds value to the person under scrutiny and more importantly, if sharing brings joy to God.

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ