05.05.12 The 10th Practice for Avoiding Negative Gossip : Do Not Forward Negative Gossip to Other People
Do Not Forward Negative Gossip to Other People
When a negative gossiper brings you a bad rumour about someone, a certain situation or entity, stop the rumour at your level rather than passing it on to others through the grapevine.
I must admit that there have been times when some people ferried trickles of gossip to my ears, albeit rarely. But even then, forwarding a rumour is something I have always been extremely cautious of, as it could open a can of worms if not well-handled. Still, there are a few instances where I had to escalate the news to a pastor, a parent or a sibling for effective handling of the situation. However, I had to seriously weigh the repercussions before taking such a crucial step.
In Nehemiah’s story, Shemaiah the prophet should have restricted Tobiah’s gossip rather than forwarding it in the form of false prophecies (Nehemiah 6:1-17). As it was, that habit caused issues for the prophet and his family. We learn that from Jeremiah 29:30-31 (MSG) which reads: 30Then God told Jeremiah, 31"Send this Message to the exiles. Tell them what God says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah is preaching lies to you. I didn't send him. He is seducing you into believing lies. 32So this is God's verdict: I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. He's going to end up with nothing and no one. No one from his family will be around to see any of the good that I am going to do for my people because he has preached rebellion against me."
Looking at JuaLink, the so-called ‘prayer partners’ should have retained the confidential ‘downsizing’ rumour within the four walls of their prayer room or altar; and focused on beseeching God to intervene in the situation rather than disseminating the news in the company’s corridors. The same applies to every rumour that Lulu and others would bring as a prayer point.