Douse the fire

I had lunch with someone the other day that just could not wait to start telling me the latest gossip going around our church about one of the leading figures in our church. Hmmm I am thinking, “What motivates this person?” I do not understand what is derived from gleefully spreading the latest rumor. What perverse joy can be gleaned from this behavior? It has never appealed to me and never will, and in fact makes me ill.

Basically I just said, “You know I am just not interested in hearing this stuff. I have never experienced what you are talking about with this person and that is what I go by. I don’t have any basis to even think about this situation much less believe it. In fact I have found just the opposite to be true in all’ of my dealings with him”. The person spreading the tale looked at me with a look on his face like he had just stepped in dog poop, evidently quite surprised that I did not want to hear more of the juicy details or want to join in like some lemming in destroying and tearing into the character of someone who is not there to defend himself.

I never did like someone talking behind my back and I have found in life that if someone will talk about others when they are not around, they will talk about me when I am not around. Rumors remind me of a filthy dirty venereal disease. It will soon become an epidemic and infects everyone it can as it spreads far and wide by those who love to engage in its evil darkness. The truth quickly gets lost as each iteration of the tale becomes more and more distorted. As with any sin, there are always consequences and reputations get destroyed, feelings get hurt, strife and divisiveness prevails.

I took a dim view of gossips before I became a Christian. In fact I would beat the crap out of someone if I discovered that they were talking behind my back. Later when I became a CEO I would severely discipline and sometimes fire someone for engaging in it with any employee. Today I still intensely dislike it. Today it would not be Christ-like to beat someone up, and I am no longer a CEO and can no longer fire someone for doing it these days, but I can darn sure not engage in it and by all means let the other person know that I do not agree with what they are doing.

The Bible tells us that gossip is a sin and even tells us that the wife of a candidate for deacon cannot engage in gossip, or if she does they will be disqualified. No, that is not the reason that I cannot serve as a deacon. (I will pay for that comment. Let me make it better. My wife has far too many faults to relate here, but one thing for sure she is not a gossip. I wonder if that worked.)

It takes two people to spread venereal disease and it takes two people to spread gossip. Don’t infect those around you. If you are sick with this disease, seek treatment by going to the Bible. Go to prayer and ask for the Great Physician. Have faith that He can heal even the worst talebearer. Finally, the next time a talebearer starts spreading his fire. Put it out.

Proverbs 26:20
Where there is no wood, the
fire goes out;
And where there is no
talebearer, strife ceases.