Gossip and its Impact on the Four Domains
Since January 1, in addition to my other daily Bible reading, I’ve been trying to read a chapter from Proverbs early each day. Since Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, then I have a new chapter of wisdom to reflect on each and every morning.
I’ve noticed a rather interesting theme as I read through this illustrious book. The theme is one of mindfulness with respect to our tongue. For instance, one of the verses that I read this week was, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (13:3; NKJV).
The word “preserves” in this verse means to protect one’s life from harm. I would contend that the term “life” here could include the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains—the four human domains. Most of us are aware of the fact that a tongue used for gossip can harm others—possibly physically, but certainly psychologically, socially, and often spiritually. While misusing the tongue can hurt the one be gossiped about, that is not what the Proverbs writer is saying in this verse. He is saying that the tongue should be preserved in order to save his own life.
Have you ever considered the damage that gossiping can do to you personally? Again, it can result in physical harm, but mostly it can impact you psychologically, socially, and spiritually. Ever felt shame or guilt for sharing something that hurt someone else (psychological impact)? Ever lost a friendship completely, or had one strained because of gossiping (social impact)? Ever struggled sleeping at night because your spiritual self told you that gossiping is sinful (spiritual impact)? I like how one writer put it: “People who consistently spread negative information about others may damage their own reputation by signaling they are not trustworthy, and they might become the next target of any rumors or gossip. Gossiping can also make an individual appear judgmental and insecure” (The Harmful Impact of Gossip section, para. 3).
Gossiping is more than just a harmful use of the tongue. It is nonsensical. Conchin (1990) said, “There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us” (p. 25). Wow, that puts things into perspective. Save your tongue for something that is constructive. Be an encourager of people. Do NO harm!
Sources:
Conchin, W. (1990). Sins of the Tongue. Meridianville, AL: Willard Conchin.
Gossip. (2017, May 23). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/gossip
Four Domains. Individualzied Balance Awareness - https://www.tranquilitycounselingserv.com/IndividualizedBalanceAwareness.en.html
