M04050

OUTLINE:

I. THE WORD GOSSIP SPEAKS

II. THE WORD OF GOD SPEAKS

INTRO:

JOB DESCRIPTION FOR INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

GENERAL INFORMATION:

TITLE: Talebearer

SALARY: The fruit of the labors is usually reward enough.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: FAR AND WIDE

SUPERVISOR: NONE. (Who can control a sharp tongue.)

LENGTH OF SERVICE: As long as ability to function is retained.

______________________________________________________________________

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Sharp tongue.

2. B.A. degree. (Not a Bachelor of Arts degree, but a degree of Bad Attitude.)

3. Large receptive ears.

4. Devious mind.

DESIREABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Ability to sense truth, then ignore and avoid it.

2. Ability to sense falsehood, then enlarge upon that foundation.

3. Able to function like a vacuum, sucking up all dirt, juicy tidbits, error, deceit, and corruption.

4. Ability to not allow facts to fog the incoming information.

5. Able to process all relevant information, categorize it into topics and usable conversation.

6. Able to communicate effectively so as to draw out information from sources and then to spread freely the accumulated information.

DUTIES:

1. Develop effective communications system between the members of this organization, so members can be open and honest with one another.

2. Train promising young communicators in the art of gathering and dissemination information.

3. Spread, SHARE, sow, and sharpen, your newfound information with any and all listeners.

4. Gather, glean, group, go after, grope for, and grapple with all that is false.

5. Outline, overlook, ogle, overemphasize, and absorb that which you hear.

Anyone fulfilling any and/or all of these qualifications is invited to take a front row seat for this study!

The title of this study is an acrostic.

Go

Out

Slay

Some

Important

People

Please read Pr 2:10-17.

I. THE WORD GOSSIP SPEAKS

As we consider the item of gossip today we want to relate honestly, up front, that the word never appears in the Scripture, however the thought of the misused tongue is very prevalent in the Word of God.

The term gossip has not always meant what we feel it means today. "gossip" comes from the French term "god" meaning "god" and the term "sibb" meaning "kinsman." It has to do with god and family.

I would like to read a short quote from "WORD ORIGINS AND THEIR ROMANTIC STORIES" by Funk. "There was a time when everyone loved a gossip. Among the Early English it was the office of some godsib to be the sponsor at a baptism. The god part of the word stood for 'god' and sib means simply, 'related.' A godsib was a godmother or godfather who acted as sponsor at a baptism and therefore became related to another through God." Queen Elizabeth was the gossip at the baptism of James VI (6th) of Scotland. A little later the word came to mean a 'boon companion,' [boon means close or intimate] but in Shakespeare's day it evolved into the word gossip as we know it. When women became close friends gossip is sure to follow.

It would seem that the original meaning and even into later times the term had a good meaning and good connotation. It is in more recent years that we seem to have turned it into the more vicious idea of spreading rumors and backbiting.

Gossip is a very negative term in our society and has no place in the Christian realm of living.

II. THE WORD OF GOD SPEAKS

The word (translated froward) under study is "tah-poo-kaw'" according to Strong. (Young goes with "tahpukoth")

Strong mentions that it means "a perversity or fraud" Something twisted or false.

The root of this term (Strong’s 2015) has the idea of "to turn" according to the Theological Wordbook of the OT.

The root of the word is used in several ways:

a. Of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Turning the cities to rubble.

b. Of the miracles or troubles if you will, that Moses did before Pharaoh. River to blood, peace into turmoil etc.

c. Of the symptoms of Leprosy. The term is translated "turn" as in the hair turning white because of the disease. Lev. 13: 3, 4, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 25, 55 Notice the turning from one condition to another condition.

d. Of things POSITIVE.

Jer. 31:13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow."

Ps 30:11 "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;"

The term is used of turning something. In the case of transmitted information, it would relate to the turning of a tale, if not the turning of truth to falsehood and normally from one condition to another.

I would just like to list a few references and make a few observations about them as we go.

De 32:20 "And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith."

This is in the context of God rebuking His people.

This first indication of the word froward is certainly in a negative vain. A froward generation is usually viewed as a people that are doing their own thing. This is indicated in the text as well for they are people with no faith.

They are turned away from God, or we might say, they are turned away from truth to falsehood. I think Moses had America in mind – people without faith and doing their own thing.

This lays ground work for the froward tongue - a tongue that is turned from truth.

Pr 6:14 "Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

This verse shows that the person that is froward in heart comes up with mischief and the person sowes discord. What a truth in relation to the gossip.

Gossip seldom results in anything except discord and trouble, not only for the person that speaks it, but for the person that hears it, and naturally for the person about which the gossip is about.

Pr 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

This lists the froward mouth with things that the believer is to hate. Evil, pride, arrogance, evil way and the froward mouth.

That applies to the person that is the receiver in gossip. You aren't to enjoy it, memorize it, and relate it, but you are to HATE IT!!

Pr 10:31 "The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out." OUCH!

When I was in boy scouts and they were teaching us artificial respiration - NOW this is not CPR, this is artificial respiration. Way back in the medieval medicine days - before CPR, cat scans and all the new discoveries – we were to save drowning victims in a totally different way - they told us to be sure that the tongue of the person was clear of the air passage. They said if you are alone and there is no one to hold the persons tongue out of the way that you should use a safety pin to pin it to their shirt collar. LIKE A BOY SCOUT AT THE BEACH WILL HAVE A SAFETY PIN! I used to cringe when I heard that, but to cut out a persons tongue! Double ouch!

This text contrasts the froward tongue that is to be CUT OFF, with the mouth of a just person that brings forth wisdom. SOME CONTRAST.

The thought of "cut off" could be taken quite literally, but at the least, we should apply the thought of cutting the person off before they spread their rumor, lie, tale, or what have you.

Your options are many: Ask them to not tell tales out of school. Ask them to stop what they are telling you. Tell them to shut up if the above two don't work. Your job is to stop it, or if all else fails, get up and walk away from the person.

Pr 10:32 "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness." God relates that this froward speech is related to wicked people. The indication is also very evident that what comes from that mouth is unacceptable!

Listen to that believer! It is unacceptable. Don't involve yourself in it!

Pr 16:28 "A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends." The froward man "soweth strife", and that is just what a gossip does. It causes strife among the troops! "A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends."

Pr 16:30 "He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass." He works at what he does! He must shut his eyes and consider how he will do it. The result of his thought and action is EVIL!

There is another Old Testament term of interest. Again, I will just read and comment.

Le 19.16 "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer...."

Pr 11.13 "A talebearer revealeth secrets, but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter" Some contrast. Telling secrets can only hurt. This verse has idea of the previous verse when it spoke of "going about."

Pr. 18.8 "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts." Hurtful, cutting, bleeding, painful, and hard to repair. Not for believers to be involved in!

This term is used of Jews murmuring about being brought out of Egypt. Might we say complaining? Might we say complaining about the way the preacher preaches, etc. etc.

Pr. 20.19 "He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets; therefore, meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips." This also is the word slanderer. Don't meddle - don't mess with, don't involve.

This one is really something! Pr 26.20 "Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out; so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth." Again, murmur - if you murmur you add fuel to strife. Do you really want to do that?

Pr 26.22 repeats 20.19

The idea of gossip should be distasteful to you Christian! The idea of gossip should cause you to remove yourself from it. The idea of gossip should move us to take action against the gossip. The idea of gossip should be revolting to us and we should see to it that we as believers stop it, or remove ourselves from it rather than get involved in it.

APPLICATION:

Let's just hit a few situations and see how we should handle them.

1. What if I hear something juicy COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT? Am I bound to not repeat it? I wasn't listening, but it just happened into my ear!

YOU ARE NEVER BOUND TO REPEAT ANYTHING!

There is a real fallacy in the thinking of man. We assume that the human brain can not possibly keep a secret. There just isn't that capability in our minds.

Anything that comes in must come out. WRONG! Let me prove that to you. The brain can keep secrets very nicely. When I was fairly young, I had been a bit of a pest with my B-B gun and my mother decided to punish me by taking it away from me.

In my mind I wasn't to worried, because I knew I could find it and use it as long as I put it back before she came home from work. One slight problem. I couldn't find it the next day. I searched our house several times from top to bottom. We lived in a small one bedroom duplex so I know that I should have been able to find it.

One day many months later I was bugging my mother about getting the gun back. She wouldn't give it to me. I decided this would take some drastic action. I hide her wedding rings. I found that action was forthcoming very quickly. She made it quite clear that the rings were to be returned yesterday! I did find my gun where it belonged later that day.

The point? She never would tell me where she had hidden the gun. She kept a secret for a number of years without ever telling me. Indeed, she never told me. WOW! Talk about the mystery of life. So you see secrets can be kept.

2. What if someone else told me as if it were general knowledge?

If in question call the person involved and tell them that you were told something, and that you wanted to know if it were for general knowledge. If it wasn't you will stop the gossip, and you can call the original gossip to ask them to stop spreading information that they shouldn't be spreading.

3. What if I heard it in FELLOWSHIP time at church?

IT IS PROBABLY GOSSIP!!! How dare we call gossip sessions fellowship!

Don't allow church activities to succumb to the spreading of gossip. There are several prime areas to watch:

Fellowship

Women's groups

Women’s Sunday School Classes

Ladies missionary groups

Women’s prayer chains

Ladies Aid societies

NOW BEFORE I AM STONED!

Men's prayer breakfasts - I have attended a couple where I was ready to speak out or leave when the gossip ceased.

Men's Sunday School classes

Board meetings

Men's groups

We might add:

Youth group

Youth activities

Might we just summarize by saying that there is a possibility of gossip at any get together of two or more Christians.

4. What if it didn't hurt anyone?

The responsibility of anyone telling a story that is false is to go and correct that story everywhere it was told, even if it didn't hurt anyone!

Even if the story was true and no one was hurt there should be an apology for having spoken out of turn.

5. What if I heard something and it was true, but it was supposed to be a secret, and I told others about it?

The responsibility would be to apologize to those involved - even if it didn't hurt anything - even if it didn't cause problems - even if you thought it was okay.

The point of all this is that gossip is an item that has no place in the Christians life. Not even a little part or place.

There is no reason for any believer to get caught up in things that almost always lead to trouble and hurt.

If you become involved in passing things on then you may well be passing on lies.

Gossip hurts deeply and I trust that you will learn this by being taught this morning rather than having to learn it through the experience of personal injury from it.

Gossip can be anything that is repeated that ought not be repeated.

The froward mouth can be anything that causes hurt or embarrassment.

Your tongue is yours to control. Use it wisely!

CONCLUSION:

It might be good for us to get back to that original meaning of gossip as believers. That meaning of the French words, "god" and "sibb", in other words let our conversation be godly toward our spiritual siblings - our brothers and sisters in the Lord.