Gossip

From time to time I revisit the issue of gossip. As a newer Christian, it was something that consumed my efforts. Having been quite accustomed to gossip being a part of my life, it took some grit to cast it off.

I recall the first ladies outing with a former church of ours. The women, who I either barely knew or didn't know at all, launched in to a full on assault toward a fellow AWANA worker. Horrified, I asked if they were gossiping about someone they serve with at their own church. Needless to say, I earned a reputation and for a long time, no one gossiped with me.

Fast forward to today, where I'm training my daughters using a book entitled Personal Help for Girls from Pearables. While I do not agree with some of the opinions held by the authors, the section regarding gossip has some beneficial food for thought. It says that gossip is the result of having an unforgiving heart. When we don't forgive someone's sins, we are tempted to gossip about them. Being idle, or spending too much time with friends sitting around talking, lends itself to gossip for many women. If we are busy enough and focusing on what we ought to be focusing on, other people's short-comings won't enter in to our conversations.

This is a challenging topic when raising children. We want them to feel comfortable talking with us about anything, but we really need to watch their heart attitudes and train them in how to think and what to say out loud vs. just to God. Thankfully my children do not gossip about friends with other friends; hopefully, this will not become a problem. But what about when we are teaching our children things to be wary of or people to be wary of, more specifically?

~Ann