Gossip, A Hurtful Disease to Love

Gossip. We have heard it before. Whether it’s at school, work, or even social events, it will be hurtful. Many of us can relate to it whether directly or indirectly. At times, we have even taken part in it. 

When it comes to people whom you loved the most in the past, it may be harder to accept that they gossip about you. However, this is a trend in this new generation where one may pull up things from your past and gossip about you with those around you.

Our tongue may not have a bone, but it is powerful enough to build up a person or tear down a person. In the book of Proverbs, the author states that: “The babble of some people is like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise is healing” (Proverbs 12:18). Therefore, we must be really cautious when we try to tear down others by our tongue.

In the words of Saint Augustine, “There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.” If God had forgiven us for the mistakes we’ve done in the past, we must not be afraid when such gossip is spread among others. Instead, we ought to pray for their conversion. Only then will the prayer of our Christ “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us” comes into practice.

Even Pope Francis had something to say about gossip. He saw gossip as a type of poison. “When we see a mistake, a defect, a slip of a brother or sister, usually the first thing we do is go and tell others about it, to gossip. And gossip closes the heart of the community, disrupts the unity of the Church.” At the time of the address, it was during the pinnacle of the draconian lockdowns brought about by the Scamdemic.

He even saw gossip as something worse than a disease. “The great talker is the devil, who always goes about saying the bad things of others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, alienating brothers and sisters and unmaking community. Please, brothers and sisters, let's make an effort not to gossip. Gossiping is a plague worse than COVID.”

When we speak of others, let us do it in a way to build them up not tear them down. Further, let’s not become accessories to gossip. It is sinful to be a part of the gossip when we don’t come to the aid of the person victimized by this spiritual knife.

I have been the subject of gossip, and I have taken part in it from time to time. Yes, I have made mistakes, yet those who used their speech against me are like those who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery. They have sins of their own. However, I strive to use my speech to build up others, not tear them down. I, too, strive to be a better person while striving to practice the virtues.  

Let us strive to use the gift of our speech to build the esteem of others and stop hurting others. It is time to wipe the ice away from our own hearts and learn to love through our words.