“That’s Still Sin” Week #4 : Gossip

Welcome to “That’s Still Sin” Week on the blog. This week’s posts are meant to take five issues that are called sinful in the Bible, but that rarely get discussed as such anymore.

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If there is any sin that is more marginalized among Christians than gossip, I’m not sure what it is.

As we have done with a couple of other sins this week, though, we need to be sure we understand what the Bible means when it talks about gossip. In the King James Version, it was often called being a “whisperer,” and that brings out the real definition of the original Greek term. It is interesting that the Greek word translated “gossip” in the ESV was sometimes used of the mystical but quiet chantings of a snake charmer.

Think about those definitions for a moment, and we get what gossip is. It is “whispering” to charm.

The word came, then, to mean that you would speak of someone in an idle way in order to share, spread, or even originate a rumor.

And, if we aren’t careful, we do this all the time.

• “I probably shouldn’t say this, but…”
• “Did you hear about…”
• “I heard from so-and-so who heard from so-and-so…”
• “He/she isn’t here, but I’ll let you know…”

…and there are more. We can start a juicy tidbit in a myriad of ways to make it not seem like it’s any big deal.

In 2 Corinthians 12:20, Paul writes about some actions of Christians that he hopes not to find when he comes to them. Right in the midst of that list is gossip.

But why?

It is because it is using our mouths–and our minds–to talk about things that (1) don’t really make an eternal difference, (2) have no basis in truth, and/or (3) harm or destroy the reputation of someone.

Christians, we need to also be careful that we don’t find ourselves enjoying hearing gossip. A gossip will stop if he/she doesn’t have an audience, but far too often we give that talebearer an open ear.

In his book Sticks and Stones, Jeff Abrams said it well:

Gossip is a monster that since being unleashed in the beginning, has increased both in ferocity and frequency. Ours is a society saturated with scandal. With each victim the monster consumes, the more insatiable his appetite becomes. Feeding on ruined reputations has made him an increasingly dangerous and debilitating foe. Perhaps even the devil himself is surprised at how potent and prevalent the sin of gossip has become. (page 36)

How easy it is to dismiss this sin because, after all, we enjoy a juicy tale. But Christians are to be pure, and are to think the best of others. May we remove this horrible monster from our midst, both in the telling and in the hearing.

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Photo credit: Francisco Osorio on creative commons

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