A Question of Gossip by Susan L.

  It grieves me to the very bottom of my soul when I listen to people swept up in sharing someone else's business. It makes me sad when I hear harsh, condemning words tossed about like nothing when it is about another person, another human being, another one of God's wonderful but broken creations. It is sad, too, when compassion is swapped for judgements about how someone else lives.
  We don't know the situation. We don't know the history. We don't know what the struggles are. Yes, their life isn't like ours but isn't our own life far from perfect? Jesus calls it specks and planks.( Mat. 7:3) Who are we to compare or sit in judgement over them?
  There is a difference between gossip and needing to speak to someone about an event or situation that impacts you personally or when there may be children at risk. It is different if the conversation is driven by a need to understand, not a need to know and tell. There's a difference if we honestly want to help another but don't know what to do. There's a difference if another's name is mentioned with the words "I forgive."
  Discussion is discrete. Gossip doesn't care who is listening to what it is saying.
  Gossip revels in another's difficulties. Gossip celebrates mistakes and shortcomings. Gossip hurts and not just the one who is being gossiped about. It hurts the one who is doing the talking. Gossip cannot be trusted. Gossip seeks attention  It thrives on hateful words. Gossip seeks to fill its own needs.
  Thank You, Lord, for this:
  Gossip is an addiction: verbal numbing.
  Like any addiction, could it be a symptom of unhappiness? Or low self esteem? Could it be that one who uses gossip doesn't know how much God loves them? Could it be they are uncomfortable with silence? Why? Is it about being lonely? Could it be that sharing gossip generates a rush of adrenaline and creates a physical high? Could it be they learned this when they were a child and witnessed others doing gossip? Maybe they are afraid of being left out or letting others in. Do they hate who they are? If they are so hard on others, are they harder on themselves?
  How they must be hurting...Oh, Lord... how terribly sad.
  Fill me with grace, my Lord, and the loving strength to speak up when gossip touches my soul. It cannot thrive if there are no ears to listen. Help me guard my own tongue should I get swept up in the seductive song of gossip. In Jesus' name, Amen.
  "But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah." Ps 3:3-4