Most Favorite Pastime
I received yet another interesting email from my Dad that I wanted to share. There's no author credited to this article... but in case you come across this and you wrote it, please don't hesitate to message me and I will credit it to your name. As of now, the author shall be known Anonymous Author.
MOST FAVORITE PASTIME
Anonymous Author
Of the Ten Commandments God gave us, the one we break the most is the ninth – “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
Obvious reason for this is that we talk about people. Those of great minds discuss ideas, people of mediocre minds talk about events, and those of small minds chat about people. It takes some of the sting out of our own failures if we can rub off the glitter of someone else’s crown.
Gossip is one of the favorite pastimes of Filipinos. In the olden times, gossip were resorted to normalize and re-inforce moral boundaries in a speech-community; foster and build a sense of community with shared interests and information; entertain and divert participants in gossip-sessions; retail and develop stories and even legends; build structures and social accountability; and reflect unvarnished and spontaneous public opinion.
In modern times, however, “gossip” has taken a new level. It simply means “spreading of rumor and misinformation, often through excited conversation over scandals.” Mostly, people don’t admit they are involved in gossip. Someone may say, “I don’t mean to talk about her, but…” and what comes next is a litany of untruth facts. The more interesting the gossip, the more likely it is to be untrue.
Sometimes, a gossip takes the form of a false sympathy. “I really took pity of my neighbor who is being beaten by her husband once he goes home drunk.” Others start the conversation with a question: “Is it true that the 17-year-old daughter of our school principal pregnant?”
Gossips have been catalogued in three different types: vest-button type (always popping off), vacuum-cleaner type (always picking up dirt), and liniment type (always rubbing it in). Which of these are very familiar to you?
“Gossip is one of the so-called ‘little’ sins that even Christians are often unable or unwilling to avoid,” “It is, to be sure, a common sin, but can it truly be called ‘little’? Gossip can destroy reputations, disrupt families, divide neighbors, and cause widespread heartbreak, and all to no purpose except the satisfaction that some find in passing on idle or malicious tales.”
The person who brings those malicious talks is not the only one who does the gossiping. Even the person who listens commits the same mistake. “There cannot be a noise unless there is an ear to hear it,” “A noise is caused by the vibrations of the ear drums. And neither can there be a bit of gossip without an ear to hear. The law holds the receiver of the stolen goods as guilty as the thief.”
Oftentimes, people who gossip about other people don’t mean to hurt those people. They think of talebearing as a bit of harmless pastime. But by talking of what those people have done, the gossiper is already judging them. And what Matthew 7: 1-2 said: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The person who talks about one who sins is worse than the one who actually commits the sin. To prove this, he cited the situation that happened to Noah and his three sons in Genesis 9:20-27.
Noah was chosen by God to save man from total destruction. While it is a disgrace to be drunk in the public, it is a double shame for someone who wears the royal purple of the prophet. Noah lay in his tent drunk and disgracefully naked.
The Bible states: “Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father’s nakedness.”
Many generations later, when the author of Hebrews writes of the great men of faith, he tells of Noah’s might work and does not remember his fall against him (Hebrew 11:7). Undoubtedly, God forgot it also.
But what happened to the three sons? “Shem and Japheth were blessed of God and they prospered,. But Ham, the son who told of his father’s nakedness, was cursed and was condemned to the life of a servant.
When it comes to gossip, the Holy Bible uses tongue to symbolize it. James 3:5-6: “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. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and it itself set on fire by hell.”
All this happens when a person uses his tongue to say something bad or embarrassing about another person. Apostle James warned that so far, no man has ever tamed the tongue. “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison,” he said.
Stop spreading the bad news. Proverbs 26:20 reminds, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”
The End.
I shamefully admit that I am guilty of this. I don't spread rumors nor do I intend to. But the little conversations with friends about other people, harmful or not, do occur. I shall do my best and not say anything about another person.
MOST FAVORITE PASTIME
Anonymous Author
Of the Ten Commandments God gave us, the one we break the most is the ninth – “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
Obvious reason for this is that we talk about people. Those of great minds discuss ideas, people of mediocre minds talk about events, and those of small minds chat about people. It takes some of the sting out of our own failures if we can rub off the glitter of someone else’s crown.
Gossip is one of the favorite pastimes of Filipinos. In the olden times, gossip were resorted to normalize and re-inforce moral boundaries in a speech-community; foster and build a sense of community with shared interests and information; entertain and divert participants in gossip-sessions; retail and develop stories and even legends; build structures and social accountability; and reflect unvarnished and spontaneous public opinion.
In modern times, however, “gossip” has taken a new level. It simply means “spreading of rumor and misinformation, often through excited conversation over scandals.” Mostly, people don’t admit they are involved in gossip. Someone may say, “I don’t mean to talk about her, but…” and what comes next is a litany of untruth facts. The more interesting the gossip, the more likely it is to be untrue.
Sometimes, a gossip takes the form of a false sympathy. “I really took pity of my neighbor who is being beaten by her husband once he goes home drunk.” Others start the conversation with a question: “Is it true that the 17-year-old daughter of our school principal pregnant?”
Gossips have been catalogued in three different types: vest-button type (always popping off), vacuum-cleaner type (always picking up dirt), and liniment type (always rubbing it in). Which of these are very familiar to you?
“Gossip is one of the so-called ‘little’ sins that even Christians are often unable or unwilling to avoid,” “It is, to be sure, a common sin, but can it truly be called ‘little’? Gossip can destroy reputations, disrupt families, divide neighbors, and cause widespread heartbreak, and all to no purpose except the satisfaction that some find in passing on idle or malicious tales.”
The person who brings those malicious talks is not the only one who does the gossiping. Even the person who listens commits the same mistake. “There cannot be a noise unless there is an ear to hear it,” “A noise is caused by the vibrations of the ear drums. And neither can there be a bit of gossip without an ear to hear. The law holds the receiver of the stolen goods as guilty as the thief.”
Oftentimes, people who gossip about other people don’t mean to hurt those people. They think of talebearing as a bit of harmless pastime. But by talking of what those people have done, the gossiper is already judging them. And what Matthew 7: 1-2 said: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The person who talks about one who sins is worse than the one who actually commits the sin. To prove this, he cited the situation that happened to Noah and his three sons in Genesis 9:20-27.
Noah was chosen by God to save man from total destruction. While it is a disgrace to be drunk in the public, it is a double shame for someone who wears the royal purple of the prophet. Noah lay in his tent drunk and disgracefully naked.
The Bible states: “Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father’s nakedness.”
Many generations later, when the author of Hebrews writes of the great men of faith, he tells of Noah’s might work and does not remember his fall against him (Hebrew 11:7). Undoubtedly, God forgot it also.
But what happened to the three sons? “Shem and Japheth were blessed of God and they prospered,. But Ham, the son who told of his father’s nakedness, was cursed and was condemned to the life of a servant.
When it comes to gossip, the Holy Bible uses tongue to symbolize it. James 3:5-6: “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. The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and it itself set on fire by hell.”
All this happens when a person uses his tongue to say something bad or embarrassing about another person. Apostle James warned that so far, no man has ever tamed the tongue. “It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison,” he said.
Stop spreading the bad news. Proverbs 26:20 reminds, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”
The End.
I shamefully admit that I am guilty of this. I don't spread rumors nor do I intend to. But the little conversations with friends about other people, harmful or not, do occur. I shall do my best and not say anything about another person.
i really really really try to avoid gossip!
ReplyDeleteoh, gosh. i'm totally guilty about this whole gossip thing. what i do though is listen from others rather than spread the word itself. lol.
ReplyDeleteyoutube tutorial? hehe... still am too shy for yt. maybe when i get a camera i probably might consider trying. :)