What everyone else is doing isn’t always the right thing
- Tayler Meade
- Sep 25, 2024
- 2 min read
How often do you find yourself in a gossiping situation that you justify by “Well everyone else is doing it?” This includes joining in on gossip about someone, adding fuel to a fire, having an issue because everyone else does, etc. I would venture to say we’ve all done this at least once in our lives. God placed this issue on my heart this week, so let’s talk about it!
The last thing we want to hear is that someone has an issue with us, what’s extra hard is that all of a sudden because one person is mad, everyone has an issue, adds to the gossip, etc. When we partake in these conversations we do it without even considering the effect it has on the person we’re talking about because, to be honest, we never intend to tell them or for them to know….
I know I’ve stated this definition many times before but as a reminder, gossip, as defined in the Bible, is spreading harmful and evil words behind the backs of others. A story I think about when gossip is brought up is King David and his enemies. In Pslam 41:5-8, David’s enemies act as if they’re concerned for David and his sickness, but behind his back spread a lie that he was about to die. They took one situation and twisted it to harm David.
We’re like this too… Why do we choose to add fuel to a situation that we know nothing about? Why do we choose to speak ill of someone without ever going to that person with a grievance? Why do make assumptions about someone without even knowing them and their character? I believe it’s a few things but they all revolve around our flesh. Our flesh doesn’t care about our eternity because it’s not going. It wants us to partake in self righteous harmful behavior. So, by aiding in these conversations we are appeasing our flesh.
God doesn’t call us to partake in these conversations. God doesn’t call us to spread harmful words about others. God calls us to love. God calls us to pray for them. God calls us to do better. So, I challenge you to start! When I finally began to come to others with issues, I was able to find a middle ground with them, understand their side, apologize for my mistakes and vice versa, and honestly just stop harboring resentment that didn’t need to be there in the first place!
Not aiding in conversations of gossip has been the most fruitful and loving aspect of my journey with God. Yes, it’s hard. No, I’m not perfect. Thankfully, I have learned to listen to my convictions and work to make the words that come out of my mouth reflect what I want my heart to be filled with! AKA reflect God!
I have linked some studies and articles here that I think really put into perspective how damaging gossip is:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041444/#:~:text=WG%20is%20defined%20as%20idle,employee%20attitudes%20toward%20the%20organization.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116280/#:~:text=33%2C34-,Remedy%20and%20Treatment,another%20without%20modifying%20the%20content.&text=Below%2C%20we%20have%20summarized%20remedy,Organizing%20of%20new%20communication%20channels.
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