Turning Gossip into Glory

"The tongue can stab like a knife; 

The tongue can separate man and wife, 

Hurting a brother, wounding another, 

Killing love and spreading strife. 

Gossip, gossip hissing near, poisoning the atmosphere  Gossip, gossip get away;

Don’t come back another day! 

Don’t come back another day! "

Patch the Pirate - Praises 3

This is the chorus of a kids' song that we sing in our children's program. It has a cute little melody but the message is powerful. You know when I think of sin. I think of lying, stealing, unBiblical relationships, killing, and so on. What doesn't pop to mind right away is "gossip". However, this is such a deadly and poisonous sin that it gets overlooked. In fact, sadly, in many of our Christian churches, often, this thrives and "even gets dressed in a hat and gloves and is called a prayer request." 

In Beth Moore's book Hope, she talks about 5 different reasons we seem to gossip. I want to share them with you because I believe that we can take gossip and turn it into Glory.

1. Boredom -> Our life may seem dull, and so a little excitement in someone else's life gives us a little bit of life.

• INSTEAD, turn your boredom into passion. A passion for Christ and His work. That will give you some excitement. :-)

2. Curiosity -> Curiosity killed the cat :-) It's always fun to hear the juicy stories but our curiosity could get us into trouble. Did you know that God created us to be curious and to get knowledge? This however is not knowledge that we need to be involved in.

• INSTEAD, be curious about God. Let your curiosity drive you to know God.

3. Jealousy -> Stories are good especially when the story involves someone that you envy. When they are somehow in the wrong, it makes you feel better about yourself.

• INSTEAD, develop a love and passion for others even those you don't like very much.

4. Companionship. -> Misery loves company. When you are not doing right it's nice to know that others aren't as well. Get out of there and get yourself right.

• INSTEAD, have mercy for others and work on getting your life straightened out. 

5. Importance -> It makes us feel good to be in the know, to have the story of the hour. 

1. INSTEAD, find your identity in Christ, not in being able to tell the juiciest story.

...and for those who have a "juicy" "prayer request", have compassion on your friend. Pray for them, and use discretion. (Proverbs 11:13; 16:28; 26:20-28) - Rejoicing in the Present