Thursday’s Thought

      A Mid-Week Inspirational Message

    (C) 2003-2008 Ron Adams

Tale Bearing

(Gossip)

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor:

I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:16

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Proverbs 18:8

   Even the casual Bible reader notices that gossip (talebearing) is spoken against in the Bible. However, some do not realize that their sharing of "news" may be gossip. Most of us can recall the hurt we felt when some bit of "news" about us was spread among others.

   Let me tell you a true account (the church and the individual's names are being omitted).   On one Sunday morning many of the parents refused to send their children to the Pre-School Class. Their stated reason: "We don't want that woman teaching our children, she was seen at an Adult Book Store." One member had seen her there and busied herself informing everyone she knew.

   This indeed was a problem, if it really happened. I met with the teacher to find out if it was true. Well, she told me that she and her husband (who was not a Christian) were shopping, and as they walked by an adult bookstore, he decided to go in. She chided him for wanting to go in and said she would not go in with him. It was while she was waiting for her husband that the church member saw her and jumped to a conclusion (better, confusion).

   Suffice to say a few members had to apologize and seek forgiveness, especially the one who witnessed the supposed misdeed and became a talebearer.

O how much grief and harm can be avoided

by not jumping to conclusions;

by refrains from telling others;

by going to the person in a friendly, helpful way;

by knowing all the facts before speaking.

Quotations from KJV