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God Hates Gossip!

The Bible explains that Satan the Devil is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). One way he "accuses" us is by spreading rumors and causing gossip.

Satan introduced gossip into the world shortly after God created Adam and Eve. He spread rumors about God. Satan told Adam and Eve that God had lied to them. He tempted them to doubt God's loving concern, and to question His wonderful plan for all mankind to inherit eternal life.

God told the man, after putting him in the Garden of Eden: "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16–17).

God's command was clear. But Satan put doubts in Eve's mind. He led her to question why God had forbidden her to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan wanted Eve to feel that God was keeping from her something that was good for her.

Notice how Eve answered Satan (who appeared to her in the form of a serpent), when she described God's order. She told the serpent: "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:2–3).

Why did Eve add the last part of that sentence? Where did she hear it? God did not forbid her to touch the tree. Did she invent the idea that God had forbidden her from touching the tree, or did Satan insinuate this into her mind? Whether this twisting came from Satan or from Eve's own desire to think of God as too harsh, it shows the power and damage of gossip—of spreading falsehood.

No doubt, the more Eve reasoned in her own mind, the more she believed she was right. She even became convinced she was telling the truth when she repeated this twisting of God's instruction. She soon "knew" that God was really harsh and unjust.

Just think: If you repeat something often enough, you end up believing it. In this case, that is what Satan wanted Eve to do. If he could convince her to believe God was unjust, he could deceive her. Once Eve had been deceived, the stage was set for Adam and Eve both to disobey God by taking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Why Gossip?

The carnal mind always seeks its own way, its own aggrandizement. It wants to be right. Self-justification is one way to achieve that goal. Accusation is another. Both help to shield our own mistakes. The carnal mind likes to be exalted. It will distort facts or twist statements to preserve its own presumed integrity. You may not realize it, but self-justification is linked to gossip.

Do you realize how often, during conversations, you only hear what you want to hear, and not necessarily what was said? Likewise, when you repeat only what you wanted to hear, you present the information in such a way that you end up appearing innocent of any errors.

But God commands: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16).

Do you grasp the depth of that commandment? Bearing false witness against someone can involve not only lying, but also accusing, gossiping and spreading rumors.

If you are truly a Christian, you should never take part in any of these activities. You should not accuse others—not to defend yourself, not to cover your mistakes and not to make yourself look good in the eyes of others. Put simply, the ninth commandment forbids lies, accusation, gossip and spreading rumors. That is what bearing false witness is!

As a Christian, you are to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). But how can you love your neighbors if you accuse them or gossip about them? How can you love them if you have a part in hurting their friendships, their jobs or even their family relationships through your gossip?

Satan wants you to bear false witness. He would like to cause division between you and your brethren. He would like to destroy your home, and he would do anything to divide or destroy the Church.

Again, when you gossip, you bear false witness against your neighbor, but God says, "You shall not bear false witness… You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Romans 13:9).

Stop and ask yourself: How much of what you hear is true? And how much of what you say—or repeat—is true? We all tend to repeat what we hear—or believe— without checking the facts. We usually take for granted what we hear or read.

Remember, gossip is never the entire truth. It might be part of the truth, or a shaded truth, or a truth out of context, yet it is never the whole truth. But there is really no such thing as "half-truth." A lie is a lie, whether white, black or shaded.

Here is a simple rule to remember: Before you say or repeat anything about your neighbor, be sure you have all the facts (and by definition the facts will be true). Then ask yourself, "Am I loving my neighbor as myself when I repeat this?" If not, you are breaking God's commandment.

When you hear gossip, stop and ask yourself: "Why am I listening to this?" Gossip is a poison that will affect your mind and your heart. Do you seek out those who are always ready to share some new gossip? If so, you are just as guilty as the ones who are spreading the gossip. Remember what Paul wrote to the Philippians: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (Philippians 4:8).

Sometimes you can be unintentionally guilty of gossip. You may not think you are doing any harm, but gossip always harms. Whether you justify yourself by distorting the facts, or accuse someone because he is accusing you, gossip is always destructive. Ultimately, the penalty for gossip is death.

The Golden Calf

Consider what happened when Moses, who was talking with God, delayed his return from the mountain. The Israelites were concerned about him, but especially about themselves. What would they do if something had happened to Moses? Who would lead them? How would they survive in the wilderness?

They had no faith. In their fear they began to doubt God's love for them, and they decided to go after other gods. They told Aaron, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him" (Exodus 32:1).

The Israelites built a golden calf and began to worship it. They forgot the Almighty God who, with tremendous miracles, brought them out of the land of Egypt. They forgot His loving promises.

"Go, get down!" God instructed Moses, "For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them" (vv. 7–8).

Moses, returning hurriedly, saw what was taking place and was horrified. He could not believe his eyes. "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?" Moses demanded of his brother Aaron (v. 21).

Aaron was in charge of the people in Moses' absence. He was therefore responsible for their conduct and behavior. He could have—and should have—stopped the making of the golden calf. But he was afraid of the people!

Did Aaron readily admit his guilt? Did he easily accept his share of responsibility, or did he justify himself? He told Moses: "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him'" (vv. 22–23).

Notice how Aaron justified himself. He considered his task impossible, since he knew he was dealing with a rebellious, stiff-necked people whose minds were set on evil. How could anyone reason with such a people?

So what did Aaron do? He let them act as they pleased! And how did he explain the calf? Well, it just came into existence by itself, according to Aaron! He told Moses: "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out'" (v. 24).

Simple, yes? All you need to do to produce a golden calf is to gather all the gold you can find and cast it into a fire—and out will come a golden calf! Such was the meaning of Aaron's self-justifying explanation. Aaron spread a story that just happened to put him in the best light possible.

Strange as it may sound, it is with reasoning like this that the human mind tries to justify itself. It puts the blame on others, instead of acknowledging its own share of guilt or responsibility. Aaron's way of describing events is not much different from the way we would describe happenings in our own lives. In a parallel situation, our human nature will cause most of us to present a matter so as to picture ourselves blameless.

Gossip About Jesus

Was Christ a drunkard? Of course not! But His persecutors claimed He was. They spread rumors about Him.

Actually, people saw wrong in whatever Jesus did. When He drank wine, He became a drunkard in their eyes. When He ate with the publicans, He was classified as being one of them. Christ was accused no matter what He said or did. His enemies constantly spread rumors about Him.

As Christ said: "For John [the Baptizer] came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Matthew 11:18–19).

Strangely enough, many of the people who accused Jesus or spread rumors about Him had never seen Him. They only believed what they had heard, and they had heard from His enemies that Christ was a drunkard and a glutton.

Even though Jesus never broke God's commandments, He was accused of breaking every last one of them. When he healed on the Sabbath, they said He broke the Sabbath. When He said that those who do His Father's will are like members of His own family, people implied that He was neglecting His mother, brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:46–50). People did not even believe Christ was born of the Holy Spirit; rather, they called Him illegitimate—one born of fornication (John 8:41).

To His false accusers, Christ said: "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:42–44). It is hard to believe, but people even accused Jesus of being possessed by a demon (v. 48)!

Indeed, Christ's persecutors could not understand Him. They had regard for their father the devil, who is a liar. They believed the lies, and not the truth. As one old saying goes, "If you don't want people to believe you, just tell them the truth!"

Yet there is no excuse for members of God's Church to behave like those who do not have God's Spirit. We must always tell the truth. We must never say anything that could hurt or harm our neighbors—never gossip, never spread rumors.

Today the world still hates Christ, because it does not understand His teachings. People still spread false rumors about Him, His teachings and the message He brought from His Father.

"If you were of the world," Jesus told His disciples, "the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:19–20).

Today this prophecy is being fulfilled, much as it was in the days of the early Church. Not only unbelievers, but also those who once called themselves believers, are attacking the Church.

"It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!" (Luke 17:1). We had better heed this strong warning.

Rumors About Christ's Resurrection

Enemies even spread rumors about Christ's resurrection. On several occasions, Jesus foretold that He would be persecuted, arrested and crucified, but would rise again after three days and three nights. Did His persecutors believe Him? No! They thought He blasphemed God, and they did everything in their power to prove Him wrong.

After Jesus' death, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to ask him to prevent, by every possible means, the fulfillment of His prophecy.

They told Pilate: "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first" (Matthew 27:63–64).

How curious! Not only did they fail to believe Christ; they also suspected everyone else. They wanted definite action and assurance from the governor.

Pilate, as usual, found a way to shun his responsibilities. He turned the matter over to the religious authorities, and told them to do whatever they considered necessary. "So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard" (v. 66).

What happened then? Christ rose from the dead, just as He had prophesied. The guards were powerless to stop the Lord's angel from rolling back the stone and opening the door. When they returned to the city and told the chief priests what had happened, the chief priests advised the guards to deny the events and to spread new rumors.

When the chief priests and the Pharisees "had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, 'Tell them, "His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept." And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure'" (Matthew 28:12–14).

Thus was a complete, heinous fabrication perpetrated (v. 15). Those who persecuted Christ stopped at nothing. They adopted every despicable means to cause division among the brethren and to stop the proclamation of the Gospel. Satan was their chief counselor. One way or the other, they let him lead them.

The same is true today. Satan still wants to divide the Church and stop the proclamation of the Gospel. Those who persecute the Church are still led and influenced by him.

Examine Your Heart

Remember, gossip's root cause may be self-justification, jealousy, a spirit of vengeance or simply vanity. But whatever the cause, gossip is sin. It breaks the ninth commandment. God hates gossip.

"These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16–19).

Practically every one of the seven evils mentioned in these verses has something to do with lying, gossiping, spreading rumors and sowing discord among the brethren.

God told His people: "You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:16–18).

As God's people—His Church—it is time that we wake up and obey His commandments seriously and from the heart. It is high time that brethren everywhere stop spreading rumors, stop seeking vengeance and stop bearing grudges against each other.

Stopping Gossip

Has gossip become such an ingrained habit in your life that you do not know how to eradicate it? Do you really want to change? Since gossip is one of the devil's tools, you can only overcome it by using the tools of love God gives you through His Holy Spirit.

Satan will put evil thoughts into your mind. He will incite you to justify yourself, to blame others and to accuse them. But God wants you to recognize your mistakes and repent of your sins. God tells you not to justify yourself, not to judge others, not to accuse. God alone is the Judge, and vengeance is His.

Get down on your knees and ask God daily to help you examine your heart, to help you stop gossiping. Do not ever say anything that will hurt your brother. Keep your mind constantly on God and His Gospel.

The Gospel is good news; gossip is bad news. Idleness often produces gossip. Therefore, be so busy doing what is right in God's sight that you will not have time to be idle. Replace gossip with Gospel!

The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to Titus, tells us how to overcome gossip, whatever our age or occupation. He tells the older men to "be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience" (Titus 2:2). If older men would follow this advice, they would never have time to gossip.

To the older women, Paul commands "that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed" (vv. 3–5).

Those were not just words. They are commandments of God.

Paul asks young people to "be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you" (vv. 6–8).

Do you want to have good friends? If so, then be a good friend yourself. Do you want other people to speak well of you? Speak well of them. If you want to be helped, first help others. If you want brethren in the Church to be better Christians, be a better Christian yourself. If you want others to stop gossiping about you, stop listening to gossip about others. You can break the cycle of gossip. God commands it!

Simple, yes? The truth is always simple, but the carnal mind makes it seem complicated.

Why do we gossip? Is it to exalt or justify ourselves, or to deflect attention from our own mistakes? Is it to seek vengeance on someone who has hurt us? Whatever the reason, it is wrong. God hates gossip! God is love, and wants each of us to show love to one another. When we gossip, we are not showing love. If we all show patterns of good works in all things, there should not be any gossip in the Church of God.

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Three Simple Rules:

Here are three simple rules that will help you stop gossip.

First, before you repeat anything about anyone, ask yourself, "Do I have all the facts?" If not, what you say may not be true. You will be spreading rumors. God commands you to "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Second, before you repeat anything you have heard about anyone, ask yourself, "Could I tell this thing in the presence of the person involved?" If not, then you should not tell it in his absence. In other words, do not say anything about anyone that you would not be willing to say to that person's face.

Christ said that the merciful shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7). But how can you be merciful if you spread rumors about your neighbor? Christ also said that the peacemakers shall be called the sons of God (v. 9). A gossiper is not a peacemaker.

The third rule is just as simple as the first two. After you have obtained all the facts, and after you have ascertained, in all honesty, that you can repeat in the presence of the person involved what you have heard about him, ask yourself: "Will saying this do any good? Will it help? Is it really beneficial?"

If the answer to any of these questions is "No," do not repeat what you have heard!