“’Do Not Go About Spreading Slander’”
“‘Do not steal.
“‘Do not lie.
“‘Do not deceive one
another.
“‘Do not swear falsely
by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
“‘Do not defraud or rob
your neighbor.
“‘Do not hold back
the wages of a hired worker overnight.
“‘Do not curse the
deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am
the LORD.
“‘Do not pervert
justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but
judge your neighbor fairly.
“‘Do not go about
spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything
that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
“‘Do not hate a fellow
Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in
their guilt.
“‘Do not seek
revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Leviticus
19:11-18
God has a zero tolerance
policy for gossip. It really does no one any good, and it only creates seeds of
mistrust that are hard to fix.
Ask the Lord to help so
that we do not engage in harmful talk about others. God wants us to set a guard
over our mouths so that we will instead speak all the good we know about
everybody.
Destroy
gossip by ignoring it.
Our Daily Bread –