The Road Less Taken

Gossip.  It's everywhere.  TV, tabloids, newspapers, social media, the workplace. We live in a gossip laden society, everyone loves a juicy story about someone else.   In my workplace gossip is practiced on an olympic level.  It's hard to avoid someone saying something about someone else.  But avoid I try.  I'm not always successful, but I'm working on it.  Gossip is so detrimental.  It focuses on the negative, changes our opinions about someone else, usually with no other basis than the biased opinion of the gossiper.  We have a new co-worker coming on board in a couple of weeks, and I've already been told this person is not a great worker.  I've already judged and condemned the new person in my mind without ever even meeting them.  (Yes, I repented of this, but you see how damaging gossip can be).  Lord forgive me!

So it's funny (and of course a timely God visit) that I just read a short devotional on gossip.  As a meditated on the devotional and the accompanying I wondered how else we can step away from the gossip games that surround us.  The Lord had a few suggestions!

The Scripture given was Philippians 4:8   And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  If we bend our thinking toward the positive, we see people in a different light.  The first thing that needs to change is our thinking.  Secondly, our speech needs to reflect the new way of thinking.  Say something positive about the person.  Even the smallest thing can change the flow of conversation.   Steer the conversation away from damaging to uplifting.  This takes practice, but eventually we can become stars at doing this.

And as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17  Never stop praying.  Pray for the person who is being gossiped about.  Pray for the person you want to gossip about.  Pray for those doing the gossiping.  And pray for ourselves that we would have the courage to speak out against gossip or walk away.  Sometimes we may have to speak up, not in a self-righteous, holier-than-thou kind of way, but just simply putting it out there that we would rather not speak ill of others.  (think humility!) We may just end up starting a trend--the gossip free zones!

Lord, let us be light in the darkness.  Help us to not only opt out of gossip, but to lead others away from it as well.  Help us to see others through Your eyes, to seek out the positive and speak out the uplifting.  Proverbs 16:24  Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Let our words bring health and sweetness to those around us.  Let our words be encouraging.  Help us to stand against Satan's evil tool of gossip, wherever we encounter it.  Give us hearts of love.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen

Put into practice God's remedy against gossip.  Pray.  Think.  Pray.   Speak.  Pray.

Ephesians 4:29  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.