Rumours

Rumours can be dangerous. It’s said that in weber once of rumour, there’s perhaps an entire grain of truth. That can be challenging for the one against whom the rumour is sparked. Our response to rumours can make a difference in their valence and the fiance they go, especially when they’re hurtful.

Did you realize that rumours are even mentioned in the Bible? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

John 21:23 NLT

[23] So the rumour spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that isn’t what Jesus said at all. He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

Rumours are Spreading

The conversation began with Y’shua and Peter. It might have been a fully public conversation, or it might have been in earshot of the others, but somehow, John knew the details. And he decided to share the details.

Peter was being reinstated, or as my friend Vicki put it, he was being reconciled to God. (Put that way suggests the conversation was public enough for the others to hear! Interesting). For each declaration of love, Peter was told to feed Y’shua’s flock. (This implied that Peter was in charge. That’s perhaps how that rumour started.)

Then Y’shua gave Peter a prophetic word on how Peter would die. Rather than complain or exclaim, Peter gave way to ‘sibling rivalry’, or extreme curiosity. He asked about John’s death.

Y’shua’s diplomatic, ‘Mind your own business’, led to serious rumour mongering that John wouldn’t die. For that’s what Peter and the other disciples began to think.

Self-Check

Have we been guilty of spreading rumours? Were there repercussions? What lessons did you learn?

Application

Y’shua’s caution went way past Peter and the other disciples. They were busy trying to see if Y’shua would treat John any differently. Their motives were suspect, and possibly resulted in their mishearing. There’s a Jamaican saying, ‘deaf ears give liars trouble’, which suggests that spreaders of rumours are liars, and the repercussions are fierce. This is due to the inability in the moment of catching the juicy news to decipher the facts from what could be sensational. But ‘hear say’, i.e., rumours are not applicable in court. Why then should we indulge in rumours at all? And what is our motive? Serious point to ponder.

Siblings, rumours and gossip are kin. Some would argue that they’re on a continuum. For when speculative gossip becomes specific ‘facts’, rumours are born. Worse yet, the speculations may contain malicious information. The wise teacher tells us in Proverbs 25:9-10, ‘… don’t reveal the secret of another, lest he who hears it reproach you and the evil reproach about you not pass away.’ Wow. The teacher asks us to even think about when the tables are turned. Ouch! Few of us enjoy when we’re the subject of the rumours.

Assignment

Try to kill a rumour when it presents itself to us.

Let’s listen before we speak, also taking time to discern whether what we’re about to say is shared in love and based on fact.

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May all we seek be found in Christ