Gossip is a frequent topic in the Bible. Obviously God knows that it’s going to take awhile before his opinion about it sinks in. He’s right.
Jesus’ half-brother, James, once wrote, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." James 1:26
James understood the danger of gossip better than any of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus spent his entire life with James, so James probably knew Jesus better than anyone, including his own mother. He also knew that gossip helped to perpetuate the hatred and envy that destroyed his brother. I think that’s exactly why James devoted a portion of the Book of James to teach us about the nature of gossip. He saw firsthand what can happen when the flames of hatred are fanned by gossip. I think that’s why he said,
Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. James 3:5
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness." James 3:9
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