Gossip

30 November 2025

By Pastor John Macindoe - Senior Pastor

There is a wise saying repeated twice in the book of Proverbs. It must be important. Those who hope to live a good life will heed its admonition. ‘The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts’ (Proverbs 18:8 & 26:22). I know what the writer is getting at because Anna and I ate too much chocolate on our holiday last week.

Chocolates are yummy. It’s hard to stop at one. In the same way, a small amount of juicy gossip never satisfies. We want to know more. We want to hear more. We want to share our sweet privilege with others whom we consider worthy of such revelation. And so, the gossip spreads, corrupting all who come into contact with it. Gossip is indeed a choice morsel that whets our appetite but never satisfies.

Unfortunately, almost all gossip, no matter how tasty, is, in truth, deadly poison. It may go down to a man’s inmost parts, but once there it works not for the good of the body, but for its detriment. James says the uncontrolled tongue ‘is a fire…that corrupts the whole person…It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison’ (James 3:6, 8).

Don’t be deceived. Gossip is destructive to everyone who succumbs to its enticing lure. Next time you long to indulge in a tasty morsel of gossip, exercise self-control. Break the cycle. Stop it in its tracks. Hand back the deadly poison of gossip. The book of Proverbs speaks great truth. ‘Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down’ (Proverbs 26:20).