31 Days: #26 The allure of gossip

A gathering of women usually means good conversation, and it can get so lively at times we end up competing to be heard. Isn't it fun, then, when we have something so good to say that it silences all mouths in the room and draws attention immediately?

You see their eyes grow big. They sit forward in their chair a little. And if it's something really good, you might even get a little gasp.

It's the reaction of others that compels us to reveal our juicy tidbits to each other, and this kind of gossip makes me sick. It's childish and indulgent and sinful, and I usually have no trouble staying away.

But what I do struggle with is letting gossip enter my one-on-one conversations. And that's because telling secrets is fun. In fact, the only thing more fun than telling them is hearing them. At least I take comfort in the fact that I'm not purposefully malicious when I'm talking to a friend.

But then again, what gossip isn't malicious? I like to tell myself it's innocent, especially if I'm talking to someone I know I can trust. Or someone who would never repeat what I'm telling them. Or maybe I'm simply sharing the information with this particular person for their own good. Or maybe for my own good. Or better yet, for the good of the person I'm talking about. 

This kind of gossip is also childish and indulgent and sinful. And it ought to make me just as sick.

The thing is, we can be taught our entire lives that gossip is wrong, but we don't understand just how hurtful it can be until we become the one they're talking about. 

So may the Lord God Almighty protect me from the allure of gossip. May He convict me like crazy when I'm tempted to engage in idle conversation, and may He grace me with enough self-control to keep my tongue on a leash when I'm all but bursting with juicy stories to tell.

Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 1 Timothy 5:13 NIV

*This post is part of a series running through the month of October 2011. Read from the beginning here.  Find the other 31-Dayers here.