Gossip

2 Do not be quick with your mouth,

    do not be hasty in your heart

    to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven

    and you are on earth,

    so let your words be few.

3 A dream comes when there are many cares,

    and many words mark the speech of a fool.  Ecclesiastes 5

I've made a point to really study one chapter a week, and I read the chapter every day and every day it seems that something else pops up for me to write about.  When I first read those two verses, I thought, "Don't make a vow to God that you can't keep." Which falls in line with the later verses.  Then I think later in the week, "Ah, it's a think before you speak thing.  Don't speak in haste to your fellow man and say something you may regret."  Just yesterday, I attended the first session of a new Bible study at my church.  We were talking about other scripture and the topic of gossip came up and a few people said something I had never considered before, which also relates to the verses above.

I hear the word gossip (and probably most of you as well) and think of talking about friends and family behind their backs in a negative manner.  Yes, I'm guilty of this, but I'm really working harder to make a point to not do this.  What I had never thought of, was that a lot of us are guilty of gossiping about people we don't know personally.  People who live their lives publicly and are seen sometimes as "larger than life."  Think of our government, our leaders, our celebrities.  

Example A: Hey! Did you hear about Justin Bieber getting a DUI?  It's crazy what he's doing in his life!  He's on such a downward spiral, I can't believe he's still got people that like him.

Example B: Hey! Did you hear about <friend, coworker, family member> getting a DUI? It's crazy what they're doing in their life! They're on such a downward spiral, I can't believe there are still people that like them.

Do you see a difference here?  I had never thought about it, but there isn't any difference.  It's all gossip, and it's all uttered before God, because, well, everything is uttered before God!

If we hear about a friend in trouble, a lot of us will pray for that friend.  What about praying for those that you don't know personally?  We're called in the Bible to pray for those in government and leadership.  It doesn't say only to pray if you agree with what they're doing.  We should always be doing this.  Pray that they are being led by God, and that they are doing his will.  I challenge you this week to start paying attention to your gossip, whether it be to those you know personally or those that you know through the media.  Pay attention, and pray about it when you do that.