Gossip: it’s so easy to engage in, and so destructive to the people it affects. So many people’s reputations and characters have been damaged by the giving and receiving of gossip, and while sometimes gossip is shared simply out of a seeming need to be social, we all need to start paying close attention to the things we say about other people. As you’ll find out by reading this article, gossip is a destructive force. It’s not just harmless words, and believe it or not, it’s not a social necessity!
Gossip and the Damage Done
Gossip in and of itself is an assault on a person’s reputation, and if you feel like it’s more common than it should be, you’re absolutely correct. Gossip exists in many forms. It can happen online, in person, and on the newsstand. In fact, celebrity gossip is incredibly prevalent and it encourages people of all ages to engage in gossip as well. However, you don’t have to be a celebrity to have someone gossip about you, and you don’t need to be young either. Workplace gossip is just as damaging to a person as school gossip is, and furthermore workplace gossip can also lead to a person’s career being negatively affected. Let’s say a person is being considered for a promotion, but their manager hears a piece of untrue gossip about the employee that causes them to change their mind. This exact situation happens more often than you might think.
Pope Francis’ Views on Gossip
Pope Francis puts a special emphasis on the importance of eliminating gossip from our daily lives. He once told a funny story about gossip and why we should guard ourselves against participating in the sharing of it. He concludes by saying: “in a parish where the faithful gossip all day against everyone and against the priest, the poor priest is alone without the community’s witness to Christ.” He went on to say that gossip is “one of the ugliest things in Christian communities” because of the destructive nature of gossip and the lives it can destroy. I hope that the next time you are tempted to engage in gossip, you bite your tongue! It’s better to hurt your tongue than it is to hurt a person’s reputation and there are so many better things we can do in this world!
My name is Jessica Cox, and my faith in Christ is what helps me overcome life’s difficulties. I am constantly trying to strengthen my faith, and although my work is never truly done, I’ve learned some things along the way. If you’d like me to share my story with the attendees at your convention or religious gathering and help motivate them to start making positive changes feel free to contact me.