Gossip
I am in a mood. A biting,black one. Where I could gladly snap off someone's head. If they pissed me off. Dangerous today... If you like living dangerously, come irritate me today. *evil smile* Make my day. Please.
Usually I would closet myself in an effort to prevent myself from being arrested for homicide, aggravated assault, or assault with a deadly weapon, but! Today, I am actually at work! Meeting people! And I have a meeting tonight!! Isn't this exciting!! Of all the days where I have minimal control... Usually I restrain myself, and don't say what's in my head. When I am in a mood like this, I spend time crafting wonderful, biting, cutting insults. An insult is a work of art, after all, and we should spend time on what we're good at, no?
Let's talk about what put me in this mood.
One of my boys messaged me yesterday, and told me what was going on with his friends. It's very sad when people cannot be open with each other. If you have a problem with me, I would respect you a lot more if you came up to me and told me. It makes more sense, doesn't it? BUT! Some people delight it turning over and discussing slights, annoyances, differences, over and over again, like stale vomit. Gross, isn't it? Some people simply do not consider the fact that we all have eyes to see, and more importantly in this case, ears to hear. Don't assume that just because a person is not present when you say something, it means that the person is not going to hear what you just said. Be smart, people. You got a problem, say something. Please.
I suppose this is a good time to say something about the topic of gossip. Don't even think it, dearies. I can hear you...
Many of you are concerned/uncomfortable/unhappy/pained/pissed about the gossip that goes around, in school , inYF, in wherever. It is clear in the Bible that '..bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, ... malice' (Ephesians 4:31), is ungodly and not acceptable in the body of Christ. Along with that is the reminder from Paul that the tongue is the most dangerous part of the body.
Now, what exactly is gossip? I have heard it defined as 'talking about someone else behind his back', as 'bitching about someone', as just 'talking about another person', among others. Well, Dictionary.com explains gossip as
' 1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.
2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
3. Trivial, chatty talk or writing.
4. A close friend or companion.
5. Chiefly British. A godparent. '
Ignore the last one. It makes no sense to me why you would want to call your godparent a gossip.
The Brits are nuts.
At any rate, this is as close as I am going to get to a formal definition of gossip while I'm sitting in the office. The first explanation of 'gossip' is a noun; gossip as the information itself. The second explanation takes gossip as a person, the who of it, as it were. The third definition is actually an adjective rather than a noun, as a way to decribe talk or writing. I shan't bother with the last two. Those are not that important. The one that is the most relevant to our discussion here today is the first definition of the word.
Taking this into consideration, gossip, then is simply information. Of course, it's information of a 'personal, sensational, or intimate' nature that is most probably about someone else (if it were about yourself, what would be the point?!). You may say that this is whitewashing the entire issue. Yes, I know, but what we are trying to do is to get right down to the brass tacks. Understand that the information by itself is not right or wrong. It is amoral, and by itself can do no harm. Like a sword, gun, or even a thermonuclear missile, it is how the information is used that is 'right' or 'wrong'. Of course, we can have another discussion about 'right' and 'wrong', but I think that is for another time.
Therefore, it then follows that the morality of the 'gossip' comes from the person. Morality is a touchy topic these days. People want to think the best of ourselves, and we like to think we are 'moral' people. Where does our morality come from, then?
There is a common morality that seems to apply to everyone across the board. It is right to help the old lady across the road and wrong to kill someone's dog. We all instinctively seem to know what is 'moral' and what is not. The people who do not are often known as insane. Many of them become the serial killers, baby-rapers, the 'monsters' of society. They are the ones who can commit terrible crimes without remorse. They are known are sociopaths, and are usually locked up in jail (if they are arrested for their crimes) for the rest of their natural lives. The Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgeway and Ted Bundy are both good examples of people with a sociopathic personality.
Since none of us here are psychopaths, let's get back to the topic. As Christians, how is our morality different? Do we play by society's norms, or do we answer to a different standard? Think about this, please. As the body of Christ, do we seek to build up or tear down? Do we want to see each other grow or backslide? What is our motivation?
I believe you know the answers to these questions, so I will not answer them for you. However, the key is to take the answers from your head, and actually believe them. Many of you spout the correct answers without the belief to make them a reality in your lives. Maybe I am being harsh here, but that's just too bad, isn't it?
When we hear the word gossip, we associate it with the connotations of maliciousness, bitchiness, pain, and all kinds of other bad stuff. How do we as Christians fight this? I think the answer is love. If you 'Love one another' (John 13:34-5, 15:12,17) as Jesus loved us, unquestioningly, unconditionally, openly, and without reservation, I think that your 'problems' with gossip will die on its own. There are a myriad of verses that call us to love one another. Go look for them.
I do not claim to be perfect. I love all sorts of information, about everything. I revel in it! But! I do not gossip. Oh I know you don't believe me, but I figure that's your business... I just do what I'm good at. I am not ashamed of the fact that I love to know things. Plus I got my mandate ages ago.
Well, that's all I have to say....
Later!!
Kiss kiss!
Usually I would closet myself in an effort to prevent myself from being arrested for homicide, aggravated assault, or assault with a deadly weapon, but! Today, I am actually at work! Meeting people! And I have a meeting tonight!! Isn't this exciting!! Of all the days where I have minimal control... Usually I restrain myself, and don't say what's in my head. When I am in a mood like this, I spend time crafting wonderful, biting, cutting insults. An insult is a work of art, after all, and we should spend time on what we're good at, no?
Let's talk about what put me in this mood.
One of my boys messaged me yesterday, and told me what was going on with his friends. It's very sad when people cannot be open with each other. If you have a problem with me, I would respect you a lot more if you came up to me and told me. It makes more sense, doesn't it? BUT! Some people delight it turning over and discussing slights, annoyances, differences, over and over again, like stale vomit. Gross, isn't it? Some people simply do not consider the fact that we all have eyes to see, and more importantly in this case, ears to hear. Don't assume that just because a person is not present when you say something, it means that the person is not going to hear what you just said. Be smart, people. You got a problem, say something. Please.
I suppose this is a good time to say something about the topic of gossip. Don't even think it, dearies. I can hear you...
Many of you are concerned/uncomfortable/unhappy/pained/pissed about the gossip that goes around, in school , inYF, in wherever. It is clear in the Bible that '..bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, ... malice' (Ephesians 4:31), is ungodly and not acceptable in the body of Christ. Along with that is the reminder from Paul that the tongue is the most dangerous part of the body.
Now, what exactly is gossip? I have heard it defined as 'talking about someone else behind his back', as 'bitching about someone', as just 'talking about another person', among others. Well, Dictionary.com explains gossip as
' 1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.
2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
3. Trivial, chatty talk or writing.
4. A close friend or companion.
5. Chiefly British. A godparent. '
Ignore the last one. It makes no sense to me why you would want to call your godparent a gossip.
The Brits are nuts.
At any rate, this is as close as I am going to get to a formal definition of gossip while I'm sitting in the office. The first explanation of 'gossip' is a noun; gossip as the information itself. The second explanation takes gossip as a person, the who of it, as it were. The third definition is actually an adjective rather than a noun, as a way to decribe talk or writing. I shan't bother with the last two. Those are not that important. The one that is the most relevant to our discussion here today is the first definition of the word.
Taking this into consideration, gossip, then is simply information. Of course, it's information of a 'personal, sensational, or intimate' nature that is most probably about someone else (if it were about yourself, what would be the point?!). You may say that this is whitewashing the entire issue. Yes, I know, but what we are trying to do is to get right down to the brass tacks. Understand that the information by itself is not right or wrong. It is amoral, and by itself can do no harm. Like a sword, gun, or even a thermonuclear missile, it is how the information is used that is 'right' or 'wrong'. Of course, we can have another discussion about 'right' and 'wrong', but I think that is for another time.
Therefore, it then follows that the morality of the 'gossip' comes from the person. Morality is a touchy topic these days. People want to think the best of ourselves, and we like to think we are 'moral' people. Where does our morality come from, then?
There is a common morality that seems to apply to everyone across the board. It is right to help the old lady across the road and wrong to kill someone's dog. We all instinctively seem to know what is 'moral' and what is not. The people who do not are often known as insane. Many of them become the serial killers, baby-rapers, the 'monsters' of society. They are the ones who can commit terrible crimes without remorse. They are known are sociopaths, and are usually locked up in jail (if they are arrested for their crimes) for the rest of their natural lives. The Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgeway and Ted Bundy are both good examples of people with a sociopathic personality.
Since none of us here are psychopaths, let's get back to the topic. As Christians, how is our morality different? Do we play by society's norms, or do we answer to a different standard? Think about this, please. As the body of Christ, do we seek to build up or tear down? Do we want to see each other grow or backslide? What is our motivation?
I believe you know the answers to these questions, so I will not answer them for you. However, the key is to take the answers from your head, and actually believe them. Many of you spout the correct answers without the belief to make them a reality in your lives. Maybe I am being harsh here, but that's just too bad, isn't it?
When we hear the word gossip, we associate it with the connotations of maliciousness, bitchiness, pain, and all kinds of other bad stuff. How do we as Christians fight this? I think the answer is love. If you 'Love one another' (John 13:34-5, 15:12,17) as Jesus loved us, unquestioningly, unconditionally, openly, and without reservation, I think that your 'problems' with gossip will die on its own. There are a myriad of verses that call us to love one another. Go look for them.
I do not claim to be perfect. I love all sorts of information, about everything. I revel in it! But! I do not gossip. Oh I know you don't believe me, but I figure that's your business... I just do what I'm good at. I am not ashamed of the fact that I love to know things. Plus I got my mandate ages ago.
Well, that's all I have to say....
Later!!
Kiss kiss!
posted by butterflyblade at 4:47 PM
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