“A gossip,” a dad told his son, “is someone with a great sense of rumor!” How do you understand gossip? Are you someone who feels it so necessary to hear or pass on 'information'? The Scriptures are full of reasons not to be a part of a gossip ring. Just check out Proverbs!
In a Readers Digest column one reads, "I don't spread rumors. I plant seeds of curiosity." Get a life, who are you trying to kid? When curiosity is at the root of our conversation, one has to wonder what is real, what is fake. Didn't you do something interesting this week, read a new book, see a movie that you might share, rather than carry on with rubbish about another?
Before we pass on information, we think to be true or false, let's be clear about how much damage we can do. Sharon Schweitzer, an international etiquette expert reminds us of this, " if you talk badly about people too often, your reputation of being a rumormonger will make others stop trusting you!"
I can't think of anything worse than being known as a gossip, especially in a small town! You? "Rumors are worse than being robbed because gossips steal another person’s dignity." If that's happening to you or another, rather than gossip, ask how I can make the situation better.
Remember, as Dr. Ned Hallowell, MD, a psychiatrist, points out, " gossip is sharing information-real or imagined without permission." Let's move far away from that and build one another up!
It's Hispanic Heritage month. Via con Dios.
BLESSINGS.
