05.05.07 The 5th Practice for Avoiding Negative Gossip : Do Not Entertain False Information

Do not Entertain False Information

You can avoid indulging in negative gossip by having ‘zero tolerance’ for lies or any other form of false information.

When you look at Nehemiah’s story, he had zero tolerance for deceptive information as revealed in Nehemiah 6:4-9; where, as already mentioned in many places, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem wanted to lure him into a trap through lies and he refused to fall prey to it. As a matter of fact, Nehemiah took them head-on by letting them know that he was aware of their falsities.

At JuaLink, Njia had the option of not entertaining Lulu’s false information when Faraja alerted management about the publicity officer’s slanderous tendencies. Had the managing director been keen on shunning negative gossip, he would have used his position as CEO of JuaLink to call the publicity officer to order, without fear or favour. Njia would have openly admitted the blunt truth about Lulu’s gossiping addiction before members of his management team; proceeding to task the acting human resource manager, Obed, to devise an effective way of handling the matter, and revert to the board with solutions or a way forward in the following meeting.

When we recall the golden calf saga, Aaron should never have entertained the disinformation that he received from the community. After all, he had ever gone to meet God at Mount Sinai and returned unscathed, as disclosed in Exodus 24:9. So why would God make Moses disappear at that juncture? By virtue of the fact that God had instructed Moses to teach the commandments that He (God) was going to give the Israelites, Moses was surely coming back to the camp. So, Aaron should have been bold enough to reassert God’s position and shun any negative rumour purporting that Moses had disappeared for good.

Therefore, if a negative gossiper knowingly relays untruths during a discussion then solicits for your input, stick to the truth instead of covering up for the monger or allowing whatever she or he is saying to go unchecked. However, ensure that you have all the relevant facts before challenging the authenticity of the information that the negative gossiper is presenting. Even then, prudently package the truth in a way that will not insubordinate your supervisors or sound disrespectful to the person submitting the ‘deceptive information’; to avoid ‘sparking off’ other rumours that could arise if you were to sound or appear arrogantly candid and confrontational.