Every idle  and hard word spoken you will be judged

One of the things that can destroy a person lives or keep one captive in a chamber of inferiority complex is the wicked tongue, its abusive way which stems from the spirit and essence of the individual. The tongue is a serpent and a killer, for from the evil of the heart the tongue speaks. Other terms in the Bible for this sin include: backbiter, busybody, slanderer, secrets, talebearer and whisperers. Front and foremost in Biblical definition gossip would be to spread rumours or secrets, speak about someone maliciously behind their back or repeat something about someone else that you have no right to repeat.

“If you aren’t part of the problem or the solution, its gossip”. Let’s take a look at how the Bible warns and teaches us about these behaviours gossip, slander and verbal abuse. Verbal abuse is a killer and a destroyer of the souls of men and women and is more lethal than physical abuse, our moral conduct is not to allow this behaviour as it is such a disruptive thing as it breaks the good spirit in a spouse or a child leading to despair and feelings of insecurity and fear and many times suicide.

{Psalms 34:18) – The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

(Proverbs 22:24) – Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

(Ephesians 4:29) – Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

(Ephesians 4:31) – Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

(1st Corinthians 13:1-13) – Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as] sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

(1st Corinthians 15:33) – Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

(James 3:10) – Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

(James 1:19) – Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

Heed these warnings and live nicely with others always seeking the best in all persons and you shall be inheritors of the kingdom by living unto the most high.Do not scar others with your vicious tongue because every wicked insult is a curse to the offended. Be warned this is a a horrible thing to do to others especially our Caribbean parents love to tell their kids that they are worthless and will turn out to be nothing. Sadly we repeat these behaviours because our ancestors saw this done to us on the plantations where they were called worthless and good for nothing and whipped in anger.We are to desist from these things and let love abound amongst our people and in our homes.A spoken word has power and with hateful intent becomes a curse on some ones life.Particularly you husband and wives who hurt each other with your nasty degrading,stabbing, insultive accusing comments, stop it now!

GOSSIP QUEENS AND BACK YARD WOMEN

Many times friends and loved ones come to you and repeat things someone said about you in a conversation thay hadwith such a person. Naively we listen and think that this person cares about us and is giving us a heads up.Well you are so wrong, because Satan uses these same people in suttle ways to spread the venom that will make you feel so distraught and hurt, making you worry and angry, setting a fire of rage within you. The bottom line is the person bringing the gossip is guilty of gossiping against you because they sat down with the other party and listened instead of saying to the person stop or change the topic, or even defend you in your absence.They are as wicked as the original gossiper because now they come as an angel of light to whisper in your ear while you feel the turn of the knife of the ugly said about about you. Turn these so called friends off

(Proverbs 16:28) A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

Gossip: Secrets, Slanderers & Talebearers

{Leviticus 19:16} You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

{Proverbs 11:13} Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

{Proverbs 20:19} Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

{Proverbs 26:20-22} For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

{Jeremiah 6:28} They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.

{Jeremiah 9:4 } Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, or every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

It is easy to slip into hurtful or trouble making talk, for gossip is idle talk. The Scriptures counsel against idle speech, pointing out that the tongue is difficult to tame and that it “is constituted a world of unrighteousness among our members, for it spots up all the body and sets the wheel of natural life aflame.” Its destructiveness is further emphasized in that the Apostle stated, “and it is set aflame by Gehenna.” (James 3:6) The danger of loose, idle talk is emphasized many times. Such speech is connected with stupidity or foolishness (Prov 15:2); it is a snare and can bring the speaker to ruin. (Prov 13:3; 18:7) “In the abundance of words there does not fail to be transgression,” says the proverb, counselling that keeping one’s lips in check is discreet action. (Pr 10:19) “He that is keeping his mouth and his tongue is keeping his soul from distresses” is a warning against thoughtless, loose, or idle talk.

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” said Jesus Christ. (Matt 12:34) Consequently, what one usually talks about is an index of that on which his heart is set. The Scriptures urge us to safeguard the heart and to think on and speak of the things that are true, serious, righteous, chaste, lovable, well spoken of, virtuous, and praiseworthy. (Prov 4:23; Php 4:8) Jesus Christ said, “It is what proceeds out of his mouth that defiles a man,” and he went on to name “wicked reasonings” and “false testimonies” among the things that proceed from the mouth but actually are out of the heart.(Matt 15:11, 19)

Gossip can lead to slander, becoming disastrous to the slanderer. The wisdom of the words at (Ecclesiastes 10:12-14) is very evident: “The lips of the stupid one swallow him up. The start of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end afterward of his mouth is calamitous madness. And the foolish one speaks many words.”

Gossip is talk that reveals something about the doings and the affairs of other persons. It may be unfounded rumour, even a lie, and although the gossiper may not know the untruthfulness of the rumour, he spreads it nevertheless, thereby making himself responsible for propagating a lie. It may be someone’s faults and mistakes that the gossiper is talking about. But even if the things said are true, the gossiper is in the wrong and reveals lack of love. The proverb says: “The one covering over transgression is seeking love, and he that keeps talking about a matter is separating those familiar with one another.”(Prov 17:9.)

Deceit, Backbiting, Busybodies, Malicious Gossips & Whisperers

{Psalms 41:7} All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.

{Proverbs 25:23} The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

{Romans 1:28-32} And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

TELLING LIES AND BEARING FALSE WITNESS IS SLANDER

While gossip can in some cases be more or less harmless (though it can become slander or lead into it), slander is always damaging and always causes hurt and contention. It may be with or without malicious motive. In either case, the slanderer is putting himself in a bad position before God, for “sending forth contentions among brothers” is among the things that God hates. (Prov 6:16-19) The Greek word for “slanderer” or “accuser” is di·aʹbo·los. The word is also used in the Bible as a title of Satan “the Devil,” the great slanderer of God. (John 8:44; Rev 12:9, 10; Gen 3:2-5) This indicates the source of such defamatory accusation.

Slander constitutes a stumbling block to others, particularly to the one slandered. The law given by God to Israel commanded: “You must not go around among your people for the sake of slandering. You must not stand up against your fellow’s blood.” (Le 19:16) The seriousness of slander is here emphasized by pointing out that in some instances false charges might actually lead to execution. False witnesses have many times been instrumental in causing the death of innocent persons.—(1King 21:8-13; Matt 26:59, 60.)

Sometimes matters are confidential, but the slanderer delights in revealing them to others who have no right to know. (Prov 11:13) The slanderer gets pleasure in revealing things that cause sensation. The one listening to slander is also wrong and is being an accomplice. (Prov 20:19; 26:22) The victim may be turned away from his friends because of  defamatory remarks about them made by a slanderer, and depression sadness and suicidal actions come into play.

The Scriptures foretell that the notable presence of slanderers would be one of the marks of “the last days.” (2nd Tim 3:1-3) Such persons, men or women, if present among God’s people, are to be reproved and corrected by responsible ones . (1stTim 3:11; Tit 2:1-5; 3 John 9, 10) Slander, in causing contention , thus produces certain “works of the flesh” (such as hatreds, contentions, and divisions) that will prevent the slanderer and others he leads into wrongdoing from inheriting God’s Kingdom. Though the slanderer may be sly and deceitful, his badness will be uncovered in the congregation.

Caleb Yhadiel