Gossip : casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.
If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord/Almighty gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord/Almighty your God/Elohim in violation of his covenant, 3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, 4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. 6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
deut 17 v 1-6
Slander : the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.
“Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.”
proverbs 10 v18
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.
proverbs 26 v 28
Back biting : malicious talk about someone who is not present.
- To attack the character or reputation of a person who is not present.
- To speak unfavorably or slanderously of a person who is not present.
“You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord/ Almighty. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.”
leveticus 19 v 16 -17
Offence and unforgiveness corrupts the heart and produce slander
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord/Almighty.
Leviticus 19 v 18They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God/Elohim-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know The Almighty’s/God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
romans 1 v 29 – 32The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell……..but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James 1 v 9-12
A grudge a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury. This is often the reason we speak ill of someone else. However, this is not the only reason, it can also come from jealousy, envy or pride.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17 v 9
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil.
Ephesians 4 v 26-27
We all have a need to be loved and valued
Most of us did not get the kind of attention affirmation and love from birth that left us feeling valued loved and satisfied. Thus there was a void. This then created a desire to fill it. Without the guidance of our Creator we use ego, materialism, status, people, food, drugs, etc.
The problem with using these things is that others are using them too and that naturally creates competition. So this often prompts us to try to outdo others, so we can have more of the scarce resources. In the case of slander we are usually trying to show someone that we are better than someone else and so we find bad things to say about someone who is not there.
The intent is to have the person we are telling see our value. This is a very twisted approach because now we have planted a bad seed and set ourselves up for others to do the same thing to us.
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
James 4 v 11
The solution is really to get our value from our relationship with The Almighty, seeing ourselves through His eyes. Getting our significance from How He sees us and His purpose for our lives.
Since we cannot see Him, our parents are expected to be our first role models. However often they also were given a bad hand and are looking for love themselves.
The solution ultimately will always come back to having a healthy relationship with The creator through His son.
30 Love the Lord/Almighty your God/Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Mark 12 v 30
For this is the love of God/Yah, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God/Yah overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
So ultimately learning to obey His word is how we love Him and the more we do, is the more we will love our neighbor. Since His word is full of instructions about how to live.
8This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
Joshua 1 v 8
How Gossip and slander damage us
Speaking negatively about others actually sets us up to be spoken about. What we sow we reap. It also shows that we are untrustworthy which is a character flaw. Pointing out the flaws in others does not makes us flawless. It actually shows we are not aware of our own flaws.
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Mathew 7 v 5
Whenever we are tempted to speak about others we should first take a look at ourselves and ask The Father to search our hearts. Our own issues are often left unattended while we attend to those in others.
A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”
galations 6 v 7-9
Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
Romans 12 v 14
Gossip and slander distracts us from seeing our own issues. It actually cause us to get preoccupied with others and not pay attention to things that are of critical and even life threatening importance in our lives.
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Mathew 7 v 5
We often think we are different from others and would not do the things they do. We speak from a morally high ground when we are often guilty of similar behavior. So starting with ourselves is how we get a more realistic view of things. Often by we are done with ourselves, we have no more energy our time for any one else.