Can you keep a secret? I’ll let you in on a ripper of one in a moment.
How often though have you heard that so-and-so did this, or that. Oh, no… really?! Tell me more.
Our appetite is whetted. Juicy morsels to savor and delight in. It feels good to get the ‘low down’, ‘the drum’, ‘the goss’ (gossip) on someone… doesn’t it?
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 18:8
But why is that? Why are we busting to hear gossip?
Is it about power? Maybe. Knowledge is power, as they say.
What about making us feel good? Build our own self esteem through knowing someone is worse off than ourselves. Interesting.
What about our little jealous streak fed by the perverse pleasure we gain from the news of an individual’s misfortune?
Then just maybe we could use the information to hurt, just a little bit, someone we are not happy with. It’s only fair to see them get a bit of their own back… they hurt us, we hurt them. Right?
Awww, that’s getting a bit close to the bone. It’s not that pleasent hearing it put that way.
Truth is that gossip is not that pleasent.
Gossip usually commences when someone makes a mistake…or looks like they made an error. As the story spreads like wildfire it is embelished and made more appealing as it passes from person to person. One of the worse things is that gossip keeps the mistake and embarrasment alive!
Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
Proverbs 26:20,21
If you listen to gossip, or share gossip under the guise of “Now, keep this confidential”… why would people ever trust you with their secret.
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.
Proverbs 20:19
Intrigued? Now for the secret I wanted to let you in on…
Can I trust you… can you keep a secret?
Good. So can I.