This blog is the fourth in a series on Christian struggles.
I was genuinely annoyed to have been given this topic to write about. I knew that if I was ever going to write about this, I’d have to address it in my own life first. I just did not want to do that. It’s something that I know I do and sometimes without even realising it. Coming to write this has forced me to think about it and address it where I find myself doing it. So maybe reading will provoke you to do the same.
Gossip is such a human thing. It’s something that no matter who you are, no matter where you find yourself, you are prone to. As humans, we’re curious, right? We have an inbuilt desire to learn things. To understand the world around us, to understand the people around us. Often that curiosity is actually a great thing. It’s how we learn; it’s how we grow. But at what point does that curiosity turn to flat-out nosiness? And how often does that nosiness lead to making comment and judgement about what (or who) you’ve just heard about?
Social media like Facebook presents our lives on a plate to people. Our pictures, our thoughts, our feelings, our relationships, our meals, our wardrobe, our career, our vanity—it’s all there. Open for the world to see and make their minds up about. I’m guilty of being part of ‘the world’ in this context. I probably couldn’t count the number of times that I’ve scrolled over Facebook pages and made comments to myself or to other people about what I saw there. We draw our own conclusions based on the surface-level information we see and once we’ve made up our minds, we usually want to discuss it, right?
But what does all that achieve? What does it prove?
My comments and judgements about what I see on Facebook stand for nothing other than to show the state of my own heart.
…out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45, ESV)
Pride, anger, jealousy? Is this where my comments come from?
What takes me to the fair is that the comments or judgements that I make about other people and their actions, only show me that I need more grace. I have been reminded of this more and more—the same God who has shown me grace and mercy in abundance, is the God who is able to show the same to them.
Let me speak for a second to you as a Christian reading this now. I’ve heard it said before that Christians can be the ‘worst culprits for gossiping’. I guess in some cases that may be true, but it also may not be true. Either way, I’ll say this: gossip that is encouraged, spread and enjoyed in Christian circles is a genuine tragedy. We each stand as sinners saved by grace. We stand on the same level ground. Not one of us is deserving of the love and mercy shown to us by our mighty God.
So then why are we so quick to put ourselves a level above our brothers and sisters who are also struggling in the same battle against sin? What right do we think we have to sit around the coffee table and giggle and remark about ‘what she did last week’ or ‘that video he posted on Facebook’? Christians, we’re called to encourage one another. We’re called to sharpen iron with iron; to hold each other accountable and push each other towards becoming more like Christ. This can’t be done well or in sincerity if we’re still having our coffee table gossips.
I feel it’s important to clarify here that while we’re not to be gossiping about each other, we still very much have a responsibility to each other. Holding each other accountable means that we should be looking out. That we should be engaged in one another’s lives. If you see someone who is struggling with sin or showing characteristics that aren’t God-honouring, don’t just sit there. Don’t resort to gossiping about it; instead, go to that person. Go humbly and in love, and walk with them away from these things.
We live in a dark and twisted generation where light can seem dim and lines are blurred. But if 1 Peter 2:9 is true, then we can’t afford to be divided by our gossip and our snide comments. If we don’t love our brothers and sisters well enough, how are we ever to love our neighbours well enough? And what’s more, if we can’t love our neighbours well enough, how well are we honouring God? (Matthew 25:40)
We can’t continue to use the ‘I’m only human’ card for much longer. The amount of times that gossip is addressed right through the Bible is frightening, and frankly it leaves us without an excuse.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
If I am a Christian, if I’m striving to live in a way that is acceptable to God (let alone pleasing or honouring to Him), then the words that I say and the things that I think and feel towards the people I’ve been placed amongst MUST change.
