Volume 7
October 2, 2016
Number 20
In my experience there have been two prevalent misconceptions regarding gossip that have circulated amongst us. Interestingly enough, these misconceptions are polar opposites of each other, and no one would be able to subscribe to both at the same time. On the one extreme there are those who would suggest that it’s only gossip if what you say is false. Perhaps a clearer way of stating this view would be to state its inverse: “If it’s true, then it’s not gossip.” On the other hand, there are those who have swung the pendulum too far in the opposite direction and asserted that “any and all discussion about any problems or sin is gossip.” By examining these two misconceptions, I believe we will arrive closer to a better understanding of what should properly be classified as gossip. As is often, the case the reality lies somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.
“If it’s true, then it’s not gossip.”
Let’s begin addressing this misconception by asking ourselves some questions: Is gossiping only telling a lie about someone? Now certainly telling a lie or spreading a falsehood about someone that defames or hurts their reputation would qualify as gossip. We might also describe this type of action as “slander”. But is this the only thing that constitutes gossiping? Can telling the truth also be gossip? If so, what makes it gossip?
It would seem to me, as we look at the many passages that deal with this issue and remember that there are several Greek words that are translated as “gossip” (see “Defining Gossip” Volume 7, Number 19), that there are two degrees of gossip being portrayed in New Testament teaching. There is “gossip” and then there is a more severe or worse degree of this sin which is described as “malicious gossip”. Paul talks about this more severe type of gossip when writing to Timothy and Titus. When speaking about the wives of elders, Paul said, “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things” (1 Timothy 3:11). He told Titus that older women in general “are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips…” (Titus 2:3). When speaking about people that should be avoided, Paul said that one of their characteristics is that of being “malicious gossips” (2 Timothy 3:3).
In the above three passages the word translated as “malicious gossip” is the Greek noun DIABOLOS, which means “prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely, a calumniator, false accuser, slanderer; metaphorically applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him” (Thayer). Again, we find it is necessary to define some of the words in our definition. A “calumniator” is “one who makes false or malicious statements about someone or something, a slanderer” (Webster). Thirty-four of the thirty-seven occurrences of this word in the New Testament are translated as “devil” to describe a false accuser or liar (cf. Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11; John 6:70; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8; etc.).This rendering is fitting when we consider that the “devil” is “the father of lies” (John 8:44).
The fact that DIABOLOS is translated in the above three passages as “malicious gossip”, rather than just as “gossip”, would make it appear that this is worse than just “regular gossip”. But why is this kind of gossip characterized as “malicious” in nature? I would suggest that it is because not all gossip is a lie. Sometimes it consists of truth. Consider this: How would you feel if you actually did something bad and someone else went around spreading the truth about your poor behavior? Pretty bad, right! I mean that would be kind of a cruel thing for that person to do. But I believe we would all agree that it would be much worse if someone “maliciously” made up lies about you in an effort to make you look bad and went around spreading these lies about you. That kind of behavior would just be despicable. Don’t get me wrong, both “gossip” and “malicious gossip” are bad and detrimental, but the latter, the “malicious” variety, seems so much worse, because it is clearly motivated out of ill-will!
So, in light of this—that there is “malicious gossip” which is always a lie (i.e. slander), which seems to be worse in nature than “gossip”—I would conclude that not all gossip is the spreading of lies. Perhaps we could say it like this: All spreading of lies is gossip, but not all gossip is the spreading of lies. Sometimes the spreading of truth, behind peoples backs, talking too much about true things that will be of no profit to the hearer (or speaker), or repeating carelessly true things that should be handled delicately or with seriousness can rightly be classified as gossip.
Any and all discussion about true problems or sin is gossip.
Does this conception of gossip hold any water? I believe that we can illustrate that this idea is indeed a misconception when we begin to evaluate several clear examples of discussion about problems and sinful behavior in the New Testament.
It is obvious that Chloe’s people told Paul about the problems of division within the Corinthian congregation (1 Cor. 1:11). And notice that their details about these problems were very specific in nature (cf. 1:12-17; 3:1-4; 11:17- 22). They obviously weren’t discussing the matters as hypotheticals or speaking in vague generalities. They came right out and told Paul clearly what the problems were and who was involved. And this doesn’t even touch on the fact that “It is actually reported” that there was a brother at Corinth living in gross sexual immorality (5:1). The language here would appear that someone(s) specifically “called out” this brother and his sinful behavior. Yet what is interesting, is that nowhere does Paul condemn these “informers”—Chloe’s people or otherwise—for “telling” him about the business of the church in Corinth. The implication of Paul’s silence is that what these informers were doing in telling Paul what they did was not gossiping.
We find similar circumstances in Paul’s correspondence with the Thessalonians. He says, “we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies” (2 Thess. 3:11). Now obviously someone at Thessalonica had reported this unruly behavior to Paul. And what is more, Paul clearly condemns those who are reported to be “acting like busybodies” (cf. 3:12). Yet, Paul nowhere here condemns whoever told him about these “busybodies” for their actions of telling him. He doesn’t describe these “informers” as “acting like busybodies”. The implication is that even though they were telling Paul about the misbehavior in their congregation, they themselves weren’t being busybodies.
When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, he urged “Euodia and Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). How would Paul have known that these two sisters were out of harmony, and that he needed to urge them in this positive direction? It couldn’t have been the result of first-hand knowledge or observation. Obviously Paul wasn’t in Philippi when he wrote to them. It couldn’t really have been based on previous or past experience and interaction with these women. At the time of Paul’s writing to the Philippians, he was under house arrest in Rome, probably towards the end of that imprisonment. It would have been at least three to four years since Paul had personally visited the church at Philippi. The implication is that someone at Philippi had informed Paul about the discord between these sisters in Christ, and so Paul encourages them to get along. But again, because Paul nowhere addresses those who told him about this discord, I would conclude that these informers were not gossiping when they told Paul.
Furthermore, we would hardly be ready to accuse Paul of being guilty of gossip simply because he told others about the sinful behavior and unfaithfulness of certain brethren, even naming them specifically (cf. 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 4:10, 14). And so, it is clear that not all discussion of problems and even sinful behavior is gossip. – J.L.
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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