If They Talk About Them, They Talk About You

Tara couldn’t believe her ears.

“They go to all those fancy dinner parties, trying to impress everyone in sight,” said her friend, Joyce.

“Well, everyone knows they lack formal education. Last I heard, he isn’t even working a “real” job. My guess is, they’re not impressing anyone,” Joyce’s boyfriend smugly chimed in.

Tara sat in silence. She couldn’t bring herself to defend her best friend or her best friend’s husband. Joyce always claimed they were her close friends, too, yet she was openly ridiculing them in front of her.

If there’s a lesson to learn here, it’s this: If people openly talk about others in front of you, they openly talk about you in front of others, too.

A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
—Proverbs 16:28 NIV

As Christians, we should avoid gossip. Our call is to build others up and promote peace. Gossip separates close friends and stirs up conflict. It’s not Christlike.

When choosing friends, when deciding who to spend holidays or vacations with, and when considering where and with whom to invest our time and energy, perhaps we should consider whether the ones we choose gossip about others.