The Hurtful G Word

April 10, 2014 | By Chuck

"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts."(Prov.18:8) Yes, you guessed it, that hurtful "G" word is gossip. Gossip is being a busybody and spreading rumors and talking about others behind their back. Nothing good ever comes from gossip. In fact, many relationships have been broken and lost to gossip. "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends."(Prov.16:28) In the Bible gossip is referred to in the context of ungodliness. "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips."(Rom.1:29) Gossip is not any different than any other sin and Christians should strive to avoid it. Even if the gossip is true, it doesn't make it okay or less sinful. As Christians we simply must face the fact that gossip is hurtful and always sinful, therefore never okay. I know you've heard the old saying, "if you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all. I'm a big believer in that popular phrase because with our words we can do unrepairable damage. Words are more powerful than we realize so let's avoid "that hurtful "G" Word" and use our words to glorify God by building others up with encouragement. Chuck Ball