Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | “A bit of juicy gossip is very satisfying,” says wise King Solomon. The Living Bible puts it this way: “What dainty morsels rumors are. They are eaten with great relish!” (Proverbs 18:8).

We Christians can be so self-righteous! My daughter says, “Christians don’t gossip; they just share prayer requests.”  I’m afraid that all too often she’s right. When a group of us sits around a circle to pray together, we often spend more time talking about people who need prayer than praying for them.

God hates gossip. The Bible describes the godless, sinful person by saying that they “have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity…envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.” And the next three words are this: “They are gossips” (Romans 1:29).

You and I can do something to bring to an end to gossip.  Proverbs 26:20 says, “Without wood a fire goes out,” so make it the rule of your life to be the stopping point of rumor and scandal. Refuse to add fuel to the fire by passing on that morsel you have just heard about someone.

If doing this is hard for you, write Ephesians 4:29 on a sticky note and keep it where you can see it often.  That’s the verse where the apostle Paul instructs us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Notice the positive words and phrases in that verse—”helpful,” “building others up,” “benefit those who listen.”

Be honest. We’re all vulnerable to passing on gossip.  Let’s ask God to help us squelch words that would hurt.