Gossip

Young children often play a game called "Gossip." The rules to the game are very simple. Several people get in a circle or a straight line. The person at the beginning of the circle or line thinks of a sentence like, "The red horse fell into the water." That person whispers the sentence into the ear of the person next to him. He cannot repeat the sentence once he whispers it, and he must speak very softly. The next person in line listens carefully and then whispers the sentence she heard into the ear of the person next to her. After the sentence has gone through every person in the line or circle, the last person repeats the sentence as he thinks he heard it.

Almost every time, the sentence at the end of the game is not the same one that was whispered at the beginning. For instance, the last person might have heard something like, "The dead house turned into the otter" instead of the original sentence, "The red horse fell into the water." The game does a good job of showing that words and sentences often can get confused when they are passed from one person to another. In a similar way, gossip often gets passed around so much that the facts get lost. Many times, the end of the "gossip train" is full of false, damaging information.

It is difficult for us to realize all of the heartache and sorrow gossip can cause. Spreading unkind and unnecessary comments about people (whether they are true or false) can destroy friendships, families, and the fellowship we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible says that "a whisperer [gossiper] separates the best of friends" (Proverbs 16:28). In 1 Timothy 5:13, Paul wrote about the widows who practiced gossiping, saying: "And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not." If we are not careful, we may find ourselves guilty of this same kind of wrongdoing. Keep in mind the words of the wise man: "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit"
(Proverbs 15:4).

 

"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless" (James 1:26).

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org