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1still_waters
Guest
This whole topic will be a work in development possibly. I'm calling this one...
(This is kind of a LONG post for me. Surprised?)
Gossip. The Means. The Method, The Motivation. Delivering The Morsel.
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 26:22
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Gossip is compared to a 'choice morsel'. A morsel is a small amount of food. So here gossip is something 'choice'. Something kind of distinct and important looking.
Once the choice morsel of gossip is ingested it goes down to the inmost parts. Meaning it gets right in the core of ones mind and being and just sticks their, fairly lodged and unmovable.
The problem with gossip is that once it gets in to someone, it's fairly hard to get out, even if it's false information. It may not even be recognized as false information, because often gossip is done in secret, behind someone's back, when the victim can't defend themselves. Often the hearer only hears one side of the gossip, leaving the victim without defense and often wrongly accused/judged or whatever.
Seeing that gossip is so hard to dislodge, I think it may be helpful to look at ways to prevent it in the first place.
We can do this by examining the means, method and motivation of gossip.
Let's start with the means. This one is pretty easy. It comes through communication. Communication that's probably done in some kind of private context. Alone. In the shadows. Never in the open.
How about the method?
The method is a little more complicated.
Gossip may come to us in a bold blatant way. Someone may simply say something like, "Hey listen to this about so and so."
There are other more shady methods of course.
There is the oh so famous "You didn't hear it from me" method. It's still blatant, but the gossiper wants to make sure they give you their morsel without you selling them out.
Or there is the "I'm only telling you for your protection" method. In this method the gossip feeds you the morsel all in the name of trying to protect you from their 'victim'. This method is oh so shady and oh so slick.
How about the, "I just needed to get it off my chest" method. Here the gossip tries to feed you the morsel all in the name of just getting a load of some kind of anxiety off their chest. While they're unloading on you, they happen to be piling a load on their victim!
Finally the "I'm not gossiping and I'm really a Godly person" method. In this method, the gossip adds a disclaimer to the gossip they're about to feed you, by saying they aren't gossiping!
I'm sure there are other means. I just can't think of any more right now.
Motivation!
Why in the world does a gossip do their gossip?
They do it to pin something negative on their victim.
The sad part about gossip is that it's often done in the shadows, in a context the victim can't defend themselves in and in the context the receiver of the gossip is only hearing one side of the story.
So that's the end of my BIG LONG shpeel.
This may be my longest post ever on CC
(This is kind of a LONG post for me. Surprised?)
Gossip. The Means. The Method, The Motivation. Delivering The Morsel.
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 26:22
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Gossip is compared to a 'choice morsel'. A morsel is a small amount of food. So here gossip is something 'choice'. Something kind of distinct and important looking.
Once the choice morsel of gossip is ingested it goes down to the inmost parts. Meaning it gets right in the core of ones mind and being and just sticks their, fairly lodged and unmovable.
The problem with gossip is that once it gets in to someone, it's fairly hard to get out, even if it's false information. It may not even be recognized as false information, because often gossip is done in secret, behind someone's back, when the victim can't defend themselves. Often the hearer only hears one side of the gossip, leaving the victim without defense and often wrongly accused/judged or whatever.
Seeing that gossip is so hard to dislodge, I think it may be helpful to look at ways to prevent it in the first place.
We can do this by examining the means, method and motivation of gossip.
Let's start with the means. This one is pretty easy. It comes through communication. Communication that's probably done in some kind of private context. Alone. In the shadows. Never in the open.
How about the method?
The method is a little more complicated.
Gossip may come to us in a bold blatant way. Someone may simply say something like, "Hey listen to this about so and so."
There are other more shady methods of course.
There is the oh so famous "You didn't hear it from me" method. It's still blatant, but the gossiper wants to make sure they give you their morsel without you selling them out.
Or there is the "I'm only telling you for your protection" method. In this method the gossip feeds you the morsel all in the name of trying to protect you from their 'victim'. This method is oh so shady and oh so slick.
How about the, "I just needed to get it off my chest" method. Here the gossip tries to feed you the morsel all in the name of just getting a load of some kind of anxiety off their chest. While they're unloading on you, they happen to be piling a load on their victim!
Finally the "I'm not gossiping and I'm really a Godly person" method. In this method, the gossip adds a disclaimer to the gossip they're about to feed you, by saying they aren't gossiping!
I'm sure there are other means. I just can't think of any more right now.
Motivation!
Why in the world does a gossip do their gossip?
They do it to pin something negative on their victim.
The sad part about gossip is that it's often done in the shadows, in a context the victim can't defend themselves in and in the context the receiver of the gossip is only hearing one side of the story.
So that's the end of my BIG LONG shpeel.
This may be my longest post ever on CC
