“And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the banks of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.” (Joshua 22:11-12 NIV) They “heard” something! Because they “heard” something war almost began between brothers in faith.
Take a rumor, stir in ignorance, add a pinch of impetuousness and you have a bad situation about to erupt. Based on a rumor! At best their conclusion was based on a wild rumor. No one bothered to verify the facts, they just jumped to a conclusion.
Churches have been divided by rumors, careers have been destroyed by rumors. Someone throws a bit of dust in the air and some are sure that a hurricane is coming. Rumor and gossip kill friendships and spread a trail of misery in it’s wake. Shadows lengthen through families as rumors spread.
Stop passing on “stuff” that you have not verified. If you drop an inconsiderate or empty tale, you have no way of controlling the consequences. Somebody gets hurt. You do harm, of which you are not aware.
Hear the warning from the Bible: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4;29 NIV)
If someone approaches you with “have you heard about?” simply stop them immediately and tell them you are going to call the object of their “rumor” immediately so they can listen to it as well. That will stop most gossip.
The best antidote for poison rumoring is still Philippians 4:8 (NIV) “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”
“Father God, set a guard at our lips to keep us from ever repeating a
‘have you heard?’ kind of statement. Give us a love for truth. Amen”
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