"Did You Hear...?"

...A woman's three favorite words.

Who doesn't love the latest and "greatest" juicy news? We, especially women, are, I would venture to say, slightly addicted to gossip.

But we're not really gossips, right? We're just "talking through things," or "sharing a prayer request."

What is gossip? And how do we stop it?

I was once told that gossip is anything that you would not say in front of the person that you are "discussing". This little nugget has stuck with me for a long time. How much of what I say would I want someone else to hear? I try to keep this in mind when I am in the middle of conversations, but it's tough. It is so easy to get sucked into a super juicy conversation. And if you think you're only guilty of gossip if you spread it, I think you're wrong. If you sit and listen, you are just as guilty as if the words were spewing from your mouth.

Do I have your attention now?

Think for a minute, how many times in the past week have you either shared or heard some form of gossip? That's what I thought.

So, what can we do?

This is definitely the hard part, and people will probably talk about it! But, it's so important to take a stand. If you are addicted to being the gossiper - the one who can't help but share information as soon as you hear it - STOP IT! Be in prayer about the words that come out of your mouth. Pray that they will be encouraging. Pray that you will be strong and that God will use your mouth for good and not bad. Our tongues are vicious, and once words are said, that's it. They're out there, and no matter what, you can't take them back. Plus, people will always wonder what you say about them behind their backs.

If you are the silent listener, you also need to take a stand. I don't know what that looks like for you, but perhaps you can start with letting your close friends know that you don't want to hear the latest news. You can walk away from an awkward conversation that you can tell is heading into an ugly direction. You could really be bold and stop the conversation before it begins.

I would also encourage you to go directly to a person instead of listening to the idle chatter to get the real story. This way you know what really has happened, straight from her mouth, and won't get caught up believing the lies that have passed through the rumor mill.

I would encourage each one of you to get a friend and work through this together, in prayer and by holding one another accountable.

Let's be God Chicks together!

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
~Proverbs 31:26

"...their (deacons) wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything."
~1 Timothy 3:11

"Turn away from godless chatter..."
~1 Timothy 6:20