Gossip Or Slander

Scripture

All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying, “A vile disease has afflicted him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”

Psalms 41:7-8, NIV

Quote

Be careful about jumping to conclusions, you may land on a lie.

~Ya’akov

Mother said repeatedly, “You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover.” Mother was right, appearances can be very decieving. To misrepresent the truth is a serious offense but it doesn’t seem to bother some. I have been guilty more times that I care to remember. I hate to be guilty of sharing bad information or passing on a lie but it doesn’t bother some. This past week Tim Keller had a good devotion on this subject so I yield to him. The verses above refer to David. Evidently David was sick and in bed; people came to see him but they didn’t really care about him, they were simply curious about his illness. After leaving his bed side they went out and started rumors about the kings health. They said he was terminal. Gossip is not necessarily spreading untruths; it is revealing information that should be kept confidential [Proverbs 11:13, 20:19]. It is sharing things that are intended to lower the reputation of the person you are talking about. A good gossip can do this with the tone of their voice or the roll of an eye. We seem to think that gossip is a harmless diversion but in scripture it is in the same list with envy, murder, strife, and hating God [Romans 1:28-30].

June and I were driving somewhere the other day when she got a phone call. The gossip had made the full circuit. It started with her and it came back to her. She was flabbergasted. When she finished the phone conversation she said, “You aren’t going to believe this and she proceeds to tell me a story, hot off the gossip circuit, about our daughter. The only problem was: June was there and the story was totally wrong. It was based on one fact and after that it was fabricated. She said, “Who is the world could make up such a tale?” You can’t underestimate our gossips in this area, we have some of the tops in the country. I want to share the story with you so bad but that would make me a gossip and I am trying my best to quit. It was both sad and funny. Sad that folks think the worse and funny that they could be so wrong. They missed the truth by a country mile.

I do see a difference between gossip and slander. Slander is malicious with the intent to destroy completely. The intention of gossip is to demean and to put down. Slander is vicious and comes from a mean spirit. Gossip is the action of an insecure person who tries to exalt themselves by putting others down.

What about them Tigers. I know my sister in Athens who is a true Auburn fan {Hate and always want Alabama to lose at anything} doesn’t read the blog. I have to admit, I feel a little embarassed to pull for them but the folks who set these tournaments up are in shock and I am tickled. I heard one of them say the other day, “There is a good chance the ACC will have four teams in the final four.” Ha, there is a better chance they will not. I hope Duke bits the dust tonight. I like the Big Ten less than I do the ACC. Auburn has got the establishment shook up: the sad thing is they have lost their best player it appears. I’m going to have to wrap this up or I will miss the games tonight.

Praise the LORD Kentucky won and now the SEC has one team in for sure. You don’t see the ACC having to play one another.

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