Proverbs 11:13 Unholy Backstabbing
A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep confidence.
Generally, in my personal Bibles, I will use the New American Standard Bible, it’s my favorite, but I will use many English translations. The word gossip appears in the NASB 12 times, but for Proverbs 11:13, I went with the New Living Translation (NLT), which seems to be a little more direct but still saying the same thing. In the NLT, gossip appears 14 times, and the first time is in Leviticus 19. Holiness to God is loving the community with respect, so gossip is definitely not holy or godly.
All people are efforted by gossip, not just Christians. and it hurts everyone. Tabloids exist to give so-call rumors about famous people, and sadly people love tabloids or fake news. Princess Diana of Wales live her life in horror; under tabloid news, photographers wanted to photo and record every action of her life, which killed her. Interestingly, Leviticus 19 says to be holy, first off, respect your mother and father, and that problem with gossip. When people gossip, it is usually someone who knows the other, and who best, then someone within a family. I am 49 years old, and I have heard and seen many family and friends hurt by gossip or rumors that really damage a relationship. Tough boys are bullies, sometimes tough girls, but bullies are really someone with low self-esteem. They belittle others, someone a bully sees as a weak individual, an easy target. Personally, gossiping does not differ from a bully; instead of using a fist to do harm, they use their mouth. A Christian spreading gossip isn’t being holy; as Leviticus 19 says, it is like no defending a neighbor’s life and watching them die.
In December 2001, I started going to church 2 miles from my house; I fell in love with the small group of people who went there. After worship, they always had a potluck meal, which was a nice cause to help me get to know the church members while having lunch. But it didn’t take me long, that not everyone really likes everyone. A few didn’t like the Pastor so well cause they felt the other church he preached at every different Sabbath was his favorite. I never really saw that cause when they had a function, like VBS, prophecy seminar, or social, the Pastor was there, and the ones who gossip usually weren’t. The Pastor lived about 35 minutes away, farther than most church members, but he got his family ready with his wife’s help and came cause he wants to do God’s work and support the church. The constant gossiping about the Pastor turns my stomach. Still, I continue to go and never really pay those people any proper attention. Years later, after the Pastor left to go preach to someone else, the one member who did the most gossiping left the church and gave up his membership. His wife had passed away, and I don’t know if he lost his love for the church or with God. I know for sure that Pastor is still active and doing God’s work, and I really don’t know what Alan is doing, but I hope he is okay. God bless you all; the Lord loves you, and so do I, Samuel H.
