Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone. I know some details about Gossip that you might find interesting. I鈥檓 sure, though, that Gossip wouldn鈥檛 want you to know these things, since he鈥檚 probably afraid that if you learned about him, it might remove some of his influence. Personally, I鈥檇 like him to lose some of his influence because he is鈥o鈥nnoying. But maybe if I let you in on a few secrets about our friend鈥攚ait, is Gossip really our friend?鈥攖hen maybe we can break some of his influence.

  1. Gossip is attractive. People gravitate toward Gossip because he lets you know the really important(!) stuff in life鈥攍ike who said what to whom about what.

  2. Gossip is addictive. Whoever hangs out with Gossip discovers how difficult it is to break away from him. The more you learn about others, the more you want to learn.

  3. Gossip hinders you from entering into meaningful and fruitful conversations. People who frequently spend time with Gossip soon learn that he dominates discussions and redirects away from conversations of real substance鈥攚hether those discussions are about the Bible or about the wonderful world God has made.

  4. Gossip is harmful. He injures relationships and breaks down trust. The closer you get to Gossip, the worse your relationships with others will be. Many people, however, consider Gossip harmless. After all, he is such a fun conversationalist. Besides, it鈥檚 intriguing to talk and learn about the mistakes and secrets of others! But great harm has been generated by Gossip. He has ravaged relationships, trashed reputations, and damaged trust.

  5. Gossip is demonic at the core. He dresses in dapper duds and speaks smooth words that appear wise on the surface, but his heart is enlivened by trickery and treachery.

  6. Gossip鈥檚 power can be minimized by learning a truly important life lesson: You don鈥檛 always have to know everything. It鈥檚 okay not to know. To the degree that you are willing not to know things about others, to that degree you can minimize a lot of Gossip鈥檚 influence on you.

  7. Gossip鈥檚 influence can be broken through confession, accountability, and repeated rebuffs of his attempts to spend time with you. You are likely to encounter one difficulty while trying to avoid Gossip, however. He鈥檚 persistent! He鈥檒l text, and call, and even stop by your house or workplace unannounced. But if you persevere, and keep insisting over a long enough period of time that he needs to stay away, he鈥檒l eventually get the message.

  8. Don鈥檛 ever assume that you have entirely broken your habit of hanging out with Gossip. He鈥檒l follow you to parties, family gatherings, and even church, hoping to lure you into another one of those intriguing conversations.

There you have it. I鈥檝e tried to warn you about Gossip. But don鈥檛 tell anyone that I was the one who let you in on his secrets. I wouldn鈥檛 want it to get around. Otherwise, it might hurt my own reputation.

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