The Dragon tongue and the can't help its

And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not
(I Tim. 5:13)

Ive done it. In fact, I frequently indulged in it. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it juicy, unbelievably, tasty gossip. Its explosive flavor danced around my mouth like a fire cracker popping on a sidewalk on the 4th of July. I had to know the latest news, because only the latest, gave me that certain . . . shall we say, satisfying feeling. But, if there wasn't any current scoop available, I'd just chew on road kill until something viable came along. Whats the matter? Is it too graphic for you? Well thats only a mere image of the heartbreaking degradation gossip causes.

But it's not gossip if it's the truth! Yeah, yeah, yeah, how many times have we said, or heard that one? Only the funny thing about gossip is, most times, by the time it gets to you . . . it's a full-blown-lie. Even if some of it is the truth, it's still a lie.

Satan lied to Eve or did he? Check this out . . .

And the serpent said unto the woman,
Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Gen 3:4-5).

Uh oh, he uttered some truth . . . she wouldnt surely die surely meaning, not right then but she did die. She also found out the difference between good and evil But as we all know so well, whats accountability without redemption? I rest my case.

Satan is a liar, and oftentimes gossipers are as well due to the fact that the truth is almost never quite juicy enough. (I forewarned you in the intro to put this book down if you didnt want to change). Not only is perpetuating a lie wrong, perpetuating anything that is not your business is wrong as well.

How would you like it if you found out other people were discussing the ins and outs of your personal life? I can assure you, you wouldnt feel very proud. A word of advice: remove yourself from the company of those who always seem to form their lips around the names of others.

He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips (Prov. 20:19).

Know this: A single untruth taints an entire tale.

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump? (I Cor. 5:6).

You may be saying, but Nicole, I dont lie, or ever start rumors on my own I only talk about other people when it is something that directly concerns me or someone did something wrong against me. OK, well, how about we go to Gods word for a moment remember now, as you see the light, walk there in. (Believe me, I cringed myself as I wrote this. But I could see the following words written in the blood of Jesus when reading them).

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matt 5:43-44).

Hmm, pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you? Sounds like you should be on your knees instead of on the phone. Now, lets really discuss this in depth for a moment. First of all, I can't think of a soul not guilty of it including myself. Someone does you wrong and it becomes your duty to get on the loud speaker and broadcast your version of the story to anyone who will listen, as if it's the gospel. However, the fact of the matter is, there's your version, the other person's version and then there's the truth. But despite whether the truth is told exactly as it occurred, you were wounded in some way by someone else, right? So your feelings and character bashes are warranted, right? Partially. Are you shocked? Don't be. Feelings are a natural part of our humanity. But, feelings alone are not the problem. It is what we do as a result of feelings that cause problems.

Consider this: When we are happy, we laugh and smile, when sad, we may cry and when angry, we may sulk, lash-out or brood. Is it normal to react from our feelings? Absolutely. Is it God's will for us to react negatively? Hardly. Sometimes, lashing-out includes damaging someone else's character. When we discuss someone unfavorably with others, we brutalize that person's character literally ripping it into shreds committing spiritual murder. Consider James 3:6-8:

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among its members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts and birds and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

So now we see that the tongue within itself can wreck some serious havoc including murder.

Still, not convinced? Let's say that someone offends you. But, the catch is, that person didn't really mean to hurt you. So instead of going to him or her and telling that person how he or she made you feel, you decided on sharing the sorted tale with someone else. You know, just attempting to get a little feedback from an uninvolved outside party. HELLO, newsflash . . . now you have inadvertently formed an invisible wedge between the individual you are sharing with and the person who offended you . . . (trust me, I speak from experience on both ends of the spectrum).

You have now defamed that individual's character, before giving him or her an opportunity to make things right or even an opportunity to properly defend themselves.