Well, I left my computer on overnight, and woke up to find this anonymous post... I've often said there's a devil in my computer, but I would have never dreamed this!
It was pretty interesting, however, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it... Take it for what it's worth!
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Why I Love Gossip...
Sometimes I'm asked, "Of all the tools in your temptation arsenal, which do you like best?" Well, asking the devil to choose his favorite vice is a lot like asking parents to choose their favorite child. I love them all, and, when used wisely and effectively, they all work very well. But that doesn't really satisfy folks' curiosity, does it?
You know all sin enslaves, destroys relationships, and seeks to undermine God's purposes, but if you pressed me today, I would have to say gossip... Here's why:
Gossip becomes an enslaving habit - Think about it... Have you ever known anyone who only gossipped ONCE in their lives? It takes longer to read this sentence than to answer that question! And you know that old saying, "Whoever gossips to you will one day gossip about you?" It's absolutely true! The power of the tongue is amazing... the power of the tongue to do evil is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! The power of the tongue to do evil over and over again... well, you should have the picture by now!
Gossip destroys relationships - In case you didn't know, I hate relationships (your capacity for a relationship with God, your relationships with others, it doesn't matter), and that's why I love gossip! It has tremendous power to turn friends into enemies, family into foes. After all, I helped plunge the world into the destructive power of sin with a simple, "Has God really said..."! Relationships that take decades to build can be utterly destroyed by a five second rumor. What I really like is when it turns "Christians" against each other! "Sticks and stones," they say... Whatever!!!
Gossip undermines the church - You know, Jesus said this about His church, "The gates of hell will not prevail against it." And like it or not, I've never been able to inflict as much damage on the church in my external attacks. Persecution is scary to a lot of Christians, but it has its limits... It doesn't really get Jesus' true followers, just the superficial ones. So, we have become much more adept in attacking the church from WITHIN. All we have to do is manufacture or exploit a real or fictional "incident." Then we get one loose-lipped half-ignorant church person talking about it. Whenever they hear something petty or salacious or scandalous, they are MUCH MORE LIKELY to "go to the phone before they go to God's throne!" Pretty soon, collective and vocal ignorance will engulf the entire church. The half-truths and lies will embolden some to go on frenzied witch hunts for "truth" (most often, just new sensationalized rumors), will disillusion many so that they never return, and will effectively keep away those the church is trying to reach. On a related note, the most effecitve rumor-mongering begins as "prayer requests!" We take particular delight in this brand of "sanctified" gossip!
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Somethng to think about it, huh?
