Someone has told me that.. Kapag ang topiko ng usapan ay ibang tao, that is gossip Just want to make this issue clear, because this concept is totally wrong. First, let us define gossip... The word “gossip” does not appear in the Bible, the concept does. Gossip is described by the biblical words “backbiting,” “busybody,” “evil speaking,” “slander,” “talebearer,” and “tattler.” God’s people must guard themselves vigilantly against these sins. Gossip is extremely damaging. In fact, gossip can destroy a preacher’s effectiveness and can ruin an entire church. WHAT GOSSIP IS Gossip is TALEBEARING (Lev. 19:16; Prov. 11:13; 18:8; 20:19; 26:20-22) and BACKBITING (Psa. 15:3), which is talking to others about the intimate details of people’s lives for injurious purposes. Gossip is SLANDER (Num. 14:36,37; 2 Sam. 19:27; Prov. 10:18; Jer. 9:4-6; Rom. 3:8), which is stating things about people that are false with the intent to harm them. For something to be slanderous, it must involve deceit and falsehood and an injurious motive. To tell someone that a certain pastor is divorced is not gossip if indeed that information is true, but to say that a certain pastor is divorced when it is not true is gossip. To spread rumors about someone in an attempt to hurt that person is wicked gossip. We must be extremely careful about passing along things that we hear. If there is any question whatsoever about the truthfulness of something, it is essential to verify it from someone who is in a position to know the matter. Gossip is being a BUSYBODY (2 Thess. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13; 1 Pet. 4:15), which is meddling into the affairs of others when I have no legitimate reason to be involved. WHAT GOSSIP IS NOT It is very important, though, not to confuse gossip with legitimate Christian endeavors. SPEAKING TRUTH TO PROPER PARTIES FOR A GODLY PURPOSE IS NOT GOSSIP. It is not wrong to share truthful things with those who have a right to such information. For example, it was not gossip for the household of Chloe to tell Paul about the problems in the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:11). As the founder of that church, Paul had a right to know about those problems. It is not talebearing to talk to a pastor or Sunday School teacher or deacon about matters in church members’ lives that they should know about. It is not talebearing to talk to a father or mother about matters affecting their children. It was not gossip or slander for Paul to remind Timothy that the Cretians had a poor national character which he described in such harsh-sounding terms as “liars, evil beasts, slow bellies” (Titus 1:12). What Paul said about the Cretians (quoting one of their own poets) was true, and his motive was not to hurt them but to help them (“that they may be sound in the faith” verse 13) and to further the work of Christ in Crete. It is not gossip or slander to speak the truth in love, regardless of how harsh the truth might sound. It is not wrong for a Christian to warn another person about a serious problem in a church or organization, so long as the information is true and the motive is not to hurt but to help and warn. Often times I have warned people about serious problems with certain churches that I have known about. That is not gossip and it is not slander. Speaking the truth in love is not gossip.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 02:33:36 +0000
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