The Destructiveness of Gossip

Today’s morning Spurgeon devotional discusses Leviticus 19:16-17:

Leviticus 19:16-17 NIV

(16)  "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD.

(17)  "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.

Spurgeon correctly notes that three are affected by gossip: the speaker, the listener, and the person being spoken about. I was reminded this past weekend that three is a sacred number in Christianity so his listed three persons had additional meaning for me.

It’s human to err and human to gossip but we don’t have to give into our baser nature. In my middle years I am more aware of my faults and put more effort into combatting them. As far as gossiping, yes, I made some big blunders in my youth. The one that changed my ways was when I was working in Chicago and a co-worker told me something crazy her husband said that she just couldn’t understand why he said that. She specifically asked me NOT to tell my husband.

I could not offer her an immediate explanation for her husband’s behavior so told her I’d think about it and get back to her. After a couple days, I still couldn’t figure out what his deal was and wondered if it was simply a “guy” thing. I then made a choice to break my promise and ask my husband what he thought foolishly assuming he would never meet either of them.

Well, as luck would have it, my boss threw a party at her home and guess what happened? Yep. Ron made a crack about the topic (to this day, I don’t remember exactly what the “it” was) and he gave his wife a look, she gave me a look, I gave Ron a look. She never spoke to me again. And, I deserved it.

So, I word of advice from someone who suffered from her own folly: keep promises and divulge nothing until death parts you from this earth.

Amen.

What is your Go To "cry" song?

Last night, Rob Carson from Mix 107.3 posed the question “what is your Go To cry song?”

I didn’t know all the songs the listeners mentioned but it did take me back to a time, as they say, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. It was the ‘70s (1970s for you youngens) and my fiancé’ dumped me. Rocker Meatloaf just released the hit “Two out of three ain’t bad” and it fit our situation to a tee. I cried for a week and lost six pounds. Until this day, whenever I hear that song on the oldie stations, a little tear appears.

What is your Go To “cry” song?

When friends "unfriend" you

I’ve been thinking a lot about power trips lately. Living in DC, it’s all about power. Perceived power, imagined power, and sometimes real power. This is the most difficult place I’ve lived. I can’t leave my house without running into someone who wants to “hump my leg” to use a politer euphemism. However, it’s one thing if it’s the obnoxious passengers on the public transit system and in the grocery store but it’s quite another if it’s a friend.

One of my friends misunderstood something I said last week, got herself really upset, and as of last night’s e-mail, I was booted to the curb as a friend.

What bothered me most isn’t that she didn’t give me a fair hearing. Nor was it that she didn’t even let me clear up the misunderstanding. All she wanted to do was to yell at me. Then she forbade me to mention her name in conversation with others.

Well, this is the United States and I was born here so am a citizen. As a woman, as a US citizen, as an American woman, forbidding me to speak her name is what really made me angry. Whether or not she likes it, I have a right to complain to my friends about her. My Italian family tried to shut me up. But I didn’t let them or even my husband succeed. So, my question to the audience, why should I let her?