Gossip is not longer just local – it’s global – EN

This is my latest article for Evangelicals Now

Gossip is no longer just local – it’s global

The woman was horrified… “You wouldn’t dare do that”. She was a member in the church and had just been told by the pastor that she was likely to be disciplined for her continual sinful behaviour, unless she repented. What had she done? Adultery? Theft? Abuse? No – she was a persistent gossip, continually slandering people within and beyond the congregation.

It’s not often you hear of that – and yet the Bible speaks strongly about the sin of gossip. “Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.” (Prov.26 v20 NIV) “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbour: I am the Lord” (Lev.19v16 ESV). “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it” (James 4v11NIV).

It is also interesting just how many times the Psalmist David expresses concern about those who tell lies about him. He knew that whilst spears and arrows could harm, words were just as dangerous: “Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue” (Ps 120v2).

In today’s world – where a lie can go round the world in seconds and be repeated ad nauseam on the internet – gossip is no longer just local. It’s global.

As someone in ministry for 40 years it has been something that I have had to deal with. At a local level in a Highland village, you knew that you were also going to be the victim of gossip. The same thing occurred to a lesser extent in the city of Dundee. But where I have really felt the problem is with a more public ministry – as an author, broadcaster and public evangelist. To cite a few examples – The London Review of Books ran a 4,000-word article attacking Kate Forbes (SNP leader candidate), the Free Church, and yours truly. I was smeared as some kind of nutty right wing American-style fundamentalist. It didn’t matter that none of the accusations were true. They were eruditely expressed by an academic with a grudge, and they fitted the presuppositions that people had of the church and me.

As a chaplain at the University of Dundee I would occasionally get word from the Principal’s office that yet another LGBT activist group from the South of England was asking for me to be fired because I made them feel “unsafe”. But it wasn’t just LGBT groups. One broadcaster told me that he wanted to have me on his programme more often, but it was the clergy “advisors” who warned him against it.

This kind of opposition and gossip occurs in Christian circles as well. After speaking at the University of St Andrews Christian Union, I was approached by the President who expressed both his appreciation and his surprise that I was “sound”. Being a card-carrying Westminster Calvinist and knowing he was a charismatic, I wondered why he thought I might be “unsound”? Because a fellow Reformed pastor in England had warned him about my lack of orthodoxy!

I write articles for several websites and magazines. Numerous times people have written to the editors accusing me of various things and suggesting I be cancelled. Too right wing, too left wing, too strong, not strong enough…

Why does this happen? Because the tongue is a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3v8). This is not to say that we should never be criticised – after all some of us clearly need the “faithful wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27v6) – but rather that there is a Christian way to do so. We speak the truth in love (Eph. 4v15). We speak directly to those who have offended us, not telling tales to the authorities, or gossiping to friends. And we should never encourage such gossip. I have learned to just throw anonymous complaints about others into the bin.

In a world where language and speech are often abused; where “misinformation” is passed on as lies, and truth is condemned as misinformation; it is especially important that we offer a better word. And that we take on board the many teachings in Scripture about how, where and when we speak. Can we not learn to disagree well? Those of us who are conflict averse need to be careful that we are not afraid to speak directly rather than engage in indirect speech (gossip). Those of us who seem to be conflict-driven need to repent of our aggressive speech and learn to follow the One who spoke strongly but was also gentle.

It’s a minefield for speaker/writer and hearer/reader alike. But one we have to traverse. We need to bear in mind the ninth commandment and the fact that those who “love and practice falsehood” are outside the city (Rev.21v15). Perhaps every time we write, or engage in a significant conversation, we should pray – “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Ps.19v14).