Gossip is big business
Gossip of this kind is synonymous with slander. In other cases, such as the story of Doeg, gossip is passing on information to people who have no need to know it. In other cases, gossip is betraying the confidence of another, as Proverbs 11:13 says: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret” (NIV).
The dictionary definition of gossip only takes us so far in our quest to uncover its dominion over us. The definition—“Idle talk, not always true, about other people and their affairs”—only raises adolescent questions of “How far is too far?” William Penn’s aphorism continues to be one of the best by which to judge whether communication is gossip or not: “Never report what may hurt another unless it be a greater hurt to conceal it.” Just let that sit for a moment.
Why is the sin of gossip so attractive to us? In the cases I’ve mentioned, someone had a desire for attention and power. “Knowledge is power if you know about the right person,” E. W. Mumford said.
This explains why gossip is such big business. Over 250 Web sites offer gossip as their main reason for existence. More than 10 national newspapers and dozens of magazines make the spreading of gossip their mainstay.
However, it takes two to accomplish the sin of gossip. Perhaps part of the reason Scripture warns us so harshly against sins of the tongue is that when they happen, they accomplish cosmic treason by a multiple of at least two. But even without the Internet and magazines multiplying the problem, gossip has always been a stigma for Christians.
James comes as close as any author of Scripture to focusing on a specific group of sins in his writings—of 106 verses in James, 30 deal with sins of the tongue. And several of these passages can be traced directly to the broad category of gossip.
JAMES AND GOSSIP
In 1:19, James warns that we should be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Why? “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Much gossip begins with anger, and, in my life, with a religious anger. Blaise Pascal said in Pensées that “Men never delight in doing evil as much as if they can do it for religious reasons.”
“If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless” (James 1:26).The famous passage in James 3 that begins, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers,” brings up another point about gossip. Gossip is rightly viewed as the vocation of the bored, the work of the idle. But what happens when “teaching” ministries do nothing but broadcast unsubstantiated rumors by Internet and newsletter? What happens when individuals make a living out of spreading conspiracy theories, foolish stories that make for interesting fiction but lousy ministry?
It is necessary for church elders to fulfill the commands in 1 Corinthians 5 to judge those who are members of the church. They should do it soberly, without rejoicing in a rival’s downfall or error. And they should do so accurately, for those who engage in remorseless slander are regularly warned by the writers of the New Testament (more than 14 times) that such behavior is dangerous to the soul.
James says, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” (3:10–11).
Slander is directly addressed by James in 4:11, where he says, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren,” or, as the NIV translation says, “Brothers, do not slander one another.” The word for “slander” is a derivation of the Greek word diabolos, which is translated “slanderer,” or, when the context allows, the proper name “Satan.” Remember that Satan is the “accuser” of the brethren, at the heart of all sorts of lies about Christians and Christ. But many in the church have no need of the chief slanderer—we do quite well ourselves. While Peter encourages the believer to live such good lives that the slandering pagans have nothing bad to say about us, James is focusing on the problem of friendly fire, internal battles where reputations are thoughtlessly destroyed for the sake of choir robes or carpet. John Calvin said, “No greater injury can be inflicted upon men than to wound their reputation.”
And those who wage turf wars in the church know this. It takes only one rumor about pornography, alcohol consumption, or the secretary to ruin the entire vocation of a minister. Conversely, because slander is so prevalent and such a frequent source of dismissal, when a minister is guilty of great evil and is fired or disciplined, all he has to say is, “It was just a rumor!” and most will believe him. The scandal of slander in the local church is so great because it allows the guilty to go free and sends the innocent to the gallows. “Slander is a vice that strikes a double blow, wounding both him that commits and him against whom it is committed” (J. Saurin). And because the church at large has been deeply wounded by slander, God took up precious space in His Holy Scriptures to warn us against it.
Does this leave room for public correction? Absolutely. We see the apostles do it in cases where the church would be injured if they remained silent. And there is room for magazines like Tabletalk to point out personal and corporate sin when the good of the church and the glory of God is at stake. But if we are wrong, woe be unto us! Teachers are judged more harshly for good reason.
If we are grieving the Holy Spirit as we receive and produce gossip, and if we are tearing ourselves, our neighbors, and our churches apart by it, how can we stop? First, but dropping the nut—by repenting. Then learn to prize righteousness more than the very real power we get from the sin of gossip—that way, we won’t stick our hand in again. And if we do, may God give us the grace to drop the nut and grasp onto His righteousness and His promises.
(2000). Tabletalk Magazine, May 2000: Faith Works: The Book of James, 9–56
