work. Of course Sandra has been busy with her new job. I guess she just needs to spend more time with him.”

Now probably, our speaker really thinks she is helping by “briefing” another Christian on how to help

Sandra. After all, the church is a family and we all work together to encourage and exhort one another. But there

was very little help here. Even assuming that what the speaker said was true, this did nothing to encourage or

assist Sandra. Instead, both she and Bill are objects of curiosity and, in the case of Bill, scorn.

         Every preacher has experienced it. It usually occurs at the door of the church where people are speaking

to  the preacher as they leave the assembly.

It goes like this:  “That was a fine lesson on watching your language. I know certain people have a

problem with that,” he says while nodding toward a brother in Christ.

Some take the lesson and use it to hammer someone else. It’s concerning to me that the message means

so little to the hearers and that they can so quickly brush it off and point it at someone else.

Anyway you cut it and whatever motive you attach to it, it is still gossip.

       Of course the old reasons for gossip are still present even in the church. Envy, covetousness, malice and

jealousy cause gossip in and out of the body of Christ. Paul told the Galatians that these things are “works of the

flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). They have no place in the life of the Christian. Gossip is but one outcome of such

characteristics. With God’s changing power we can eliminate such from our lives.

Idle talk is perhaps the single most common cause of gossip. We don’t intend to hurt anyone and we

would never knowingly gossip about a brother or sister, but we do. I guess we assume the information is known

or that the person we are speaking to is close enough and dear enough that we can talk about things with them.

Such an assumption is usually wrong.

Whatever the reason, gossip is wrong and we must do all we can to stop gossip.

            Here are five ideas to help put the brakes on waging tongues. As always, start with self first.

Make a conscious effort to monitor your own words. Actively listen to yourself. Make careful note

of what you talk about, who you talk about and precisely what you say. Ensure that your words are Godly words

that directly build-up, not tear down.

Make a conscious effort to monitor your own hearing. What ever comes into your mind makes an

impression. Don’t listen to the juicy details about someone you know. Either move the conversation to a new

subject or move along yourself.

Speak out to stop gossip. There is no need to be nasty but just let people know you will not be a party

to gossip. It might be easier to tell your close friends before gossip begins that you are trying to break a bad habit.

When the talk starts, interrupt and remind people that you’d rather not talk about other people.

Assume unflattering stories are false. When you hear something tawdry about someone do you assume

it is true? What if we all just assumed that the gossip was false? Would that slow things down?  (Remember,

we’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.)

Let gossip end with you. What if every piece of gossip depended upon you? Would it live or die? Slay

gossip by refusing to repeat it. Keep count for the next week. How many pieces of gossip did you kill? You might

be surprised.

Gossip is incredibly common and incredibly destructive. There is no place for gossip anywhere but

especially in the church where we are brothers and sisters and servants of the Most High. Do your part to squelch

wagging tongues!

Let’s memorize the list:

  Monitor your lips

Monitor your ears

Speak out

 Assume it’s false

 End it with you