Thirteen Practices for Avoiding Negative Gossip

The fact that negative gossip should be avoided is undeniable given the many disbenefits associated with such behavior, as highlighted in previous chapters. The good news is that it is possible to refrain from engaging in this destructive vice.

Before we delve into this chapter, I need to draw your attention to one of my personal encounters that I narrated in chapter three where a colleague sought to involve me in the backlashes of a negative rumour against a church minister. In this chapter, we shall combine that personal experience with Nehemiah’s story, the narrative of Aaron and the golden calf as well as the JuaLink story, to discuss what you could do to avoid being lured into negative gossip. Notice that although this chapter focuses on that issue, several pointers have already been discussed albeit briefly, in previous chapters.