Key scripture- “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11:13).

Are you a gossip?

Author, Liz Curtis Higgs, tells us to: Picture yourself hanging out with friends. Sharing a meal, sharing your lives. Someone’s name comes up. Someone who isn’t there. A comment is made. “Have you seen ______?” Then another. “Well, I heard ______.” Once people realize you know the person they’re talking about better than anyone else at the table, heads turn in your direction. Faces look at you expectantly. What happens next depends on how willing you are to honor today’s key verse from Proverbs and the One who wrote it.

We often think of gossip as a verb — something we do. But here it’s a noun — something we are: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11:13).

Whether we’re aware of it or not, gossip is often fueled by a desperate need for attention. Look at me. Listen to me. I know a secret. I must be special.

For some people, this sort of behavior isn’t even a temptation, let alone a common practice. We wouldn’t dream of wounding a friend or betraying another’s trust. When we say, “Your secret is safe with me,” we mean it. If you beg us, “Don’t tell anyone,” we don’t.

But others feel uncomfortable when the topic of gossip comes up, because they enjoy passing along some interesting story they have heard. They don’t consider them selves heartless or thoughtless — mainly just curious and gregarious. What they see, they share. What they discover, they uncover, and they convince themselves they mean no harm.

Only you and the Lord know which description fits you. For those who still struggle with this problem, He is willing and able to remake everyone into trustworthy people. Even if talking about others is deeply ingrained in your nature, God is able to change you through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, who can keep you from sharing private confidences meant for your ears alone.

Before we speak we need to always remember: Loose lips sink relationships, and trust is the buoy that keeps them afloat.

If you are serious about not gossiping here is what I want you to do: If you say something bad about someone then you have to go and tell them what you said, apologize to them, and ask for their forgiveness. After you do that a few times you will watch everything that comes out of your mouth and make sure it builds people up and does not tear them down.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, help me to see that “sharing” something bad about someone for what it truly is: thoughtless, careless, pointless, cruel gossip. When I gossip, I need to remember that the same mouth that praises, blesses, and worships God, is cursing someone who has been made in the image of God, and that is not right at all. Father, I want the Holy Spirit to put a lock on my lips and a guard over my mouth so that what I say builds people up and does not tear them down. Even if something is true about someone, if it is not favorable to them, give me the wisdom and self control to keep my mouth shut and not broadcast it. Forgive me. Guide me, and set me free from carelessly saying something about someone. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.