{"id":2252,"date":"2020-07-01T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=2252"},"modified":"2020-06-13T08:28:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T13:28:05","slug":"why-do-you-enjoy-listening-to-gossip-in-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/07\/01\/why-do-you-enjoy-listening-to-gossip-in-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"WHY DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO GOSSIP IN YOUR LIFE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThe words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.\u201d (Proverbs 18:8 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip is sinful pleasure.  The juicy morsels of someone else\u2019s woe secretly make us feel better.  Especially if the gossip is about someone we don\u2019t like. The friend who betrayed your trust, what’s the harm in gossiping about them, right?  The boss who makes work difficult, gossiping about him is easy.  How about the ex-spouse, boyfriend or partner?  Hearing gossip about someone who hurt you deeply secretly brings pleasure.  We want them to suffer for the suffering they caused us.  We enjoy listening to gossip because it takes our attention away from our own problems.  Gossip is a sinful pleasure we don\u2019t think is harmful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip is a sinful pleasure we don\u2019t think is harmful.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip is harmful.  Not only does gossip hurt the person who is it\u2019s subject,  listening to it is harmful to us.  Gossip diverts us from the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip\u2019s definition: casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.<\/em> <\/em>Gossip is lying.  Gossip is making up something about someone that isn\u2019t true. Gossip destroys relationships, devastates people and causes harm hard to repair.  Gossip destroys trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip starts so easily, and usually innocently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend of mine was recently struggling with a health issue that wouldn\u2019t go away.   Normal treatment wasn\u2019t effective.  Because of family history, the doctor\u2019s checked for a brain tumor, there was none.  A few weeks later I was having lunch with a different friend.  Knowing of my other friend\u2019s struggles, she told me she\u2019d heard something.  When I asked her what she had heard, it was that my friend had cancer.  A total lie, somehow started innocently that spread like wildfire.  I debunked the lie immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip isn\u2019t a harmless sin, it\u2019s tendrils are long and deep.  People ruin others’ lives because of the lies they tell.  Lies we believe easily because we\u2019d rather see the worst in people than the best.  As Christ follower\u2019s, fighting gossip is an everyday battle we can\u2019t avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we fight the battle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First we mustn\u2019t gossip.  Set the example for others.  Don\u2019t talk about other people. Don\u2019t spread lies.  Don\u2019t start rumors.  Don\u2019t gossip.  Secondly, when someone starts to gossip to you, stop them.  Don\u2019t allow them to lie about others.  If you know the truth, tell them the truth.  If you don\u2019t know the truth, and they don\u2019t know the truth, then don\u2019t talk about the subject at all.  And when you falter and partake in gossip, confess your sin.  God already knows, confess to Him.  He\u2019ll lead you in what to do to repair the mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gossip is juicy, but following God is juicier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who have you gossiped about lately?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading: <\/strong>2 Kings 18:13-19:37 NIV<\/a>, Acts 21:1-17 NIV<\/a>, Psalm 149:1-9 NIV<\/a>, Proverbs 18:8 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.\u201d (Proverbs 18:8 NIV) Gossip is sinful pleasure.  The juicy morsels of someone else\u2019s woe secretly make us feel better.  Especially if the gossip is about someone we don\u2019t like. The friend who betrayed your trust, what’s the harm in… Continue reading WHY DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO GOSSIP IN YOUR LIFE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2252"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2255,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252\/revisions\/2255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}