Truth that is designed for injury is gossip. The root word for slander is diabolos, which is the same word that is used for devil. When you slander someone who is in covenant with God, you are in “double trouble” because you set yourself against God. You place yourself in jeopardy. You cannot throw dirt without getting dirty.
The Ninth Commandment is: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” The victims of gossip have been tried and found guilty without the opportunity to defend themselves or repent. Listening to gossip is like consuming garbage. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and a sour feeling in your stomach.
Proverbs 26:22 (MSG)
“Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy. Do you want junk like that in your belly?”
Practical Application and Assignments:
Being the victim of a rumor is a painful, humiliating experience. Even information that is true is not a license to repeat it irresponsibly. Communicating malicious hearsay is slanderous.
- Don’t repeat rumors. Play the telephone game. Place the participants in a line. Whisper something into the ear of the first person. Ask each person to whisper it to the next person. The last person speaks the words out loud. The message received is never the same as the original statement.
- Become more aware of the power of your words. Toss a bag of confetti into the air outside on a windy day. Watch as it scatters in every direction. An attempt to retrieve it is impossible. The effect is the same with words that are spoken.
- Practice the “no evil” philosophy: “Think no evil… hear no evil… speak no evil.” Be a peace maker. “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceases.”
“He that covers the transgression seeks love, but he that speaks a matter separates friends.” Proverbs 17:9
