Don't be a Parrot

Some people thrive on repeating gossip and negative news. Just because we hear something negative and bad does not meant that we need to repeat it.

When you repeat a matter, be prepared to suffer the consequences if your secret gossip is discovered. Just because you use a “just between us” attitude during your conversation does not mean that the person you are talking to won’t use a “just between us” attitude when she shares that juicy gossip with someone else. Always keep in mind that everything you speak is subject to being repeated by someone else.

Ecclesiastes 10:20 says, “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”

If it would embarrass you for the person you are talking about to find out what you are saying about him or her, don’t say it.

Better yet, if it would bother you if you knew you were the subject of someone else’s gossip, don’t gossip about others.

Do not ally yourself with gossipers and talebearers. Proverbs 18:8 states, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” For your closest acquaintances, choose people who speak encouraging words, rather than gossip and negativity.

Photo: Jerusalem Biblical Zoo by Bill and Sylvia Ferrin