Ask a Pastor Column

Q: Does the commandment: “you shall not bear false witness” apply to gossip? If so, how?

A: Fundamentally, the 9th commandment involves communicating what is not true (particularly in a judicial setting), while gossip (in the biblical sense) refers to speech that tears someone down behind their back. So then, gossip would not necessarily fall under the 9th commandment, however since both lying and gossip are sins of the tongue, they often go hand in hand.

I only found one occurrence of the word gossip in the Bible (I Timothy 5:13). But other instructions to avoid “backbiting” (attacking someone verbally when they are unaware; II Corinthians 12:20), slander II Timothy 3:2-3, being a busybody (minding someone else’s business); I Peter 4:15, and whisperings Proverbs 16:28, would all bear on the topic. While spreading lies in this manner would certainly intensify both the sin and the harm, it is entirely possible to ruin lives by spreading truth that doesn’t need to be spread (Proverbs 10:12; 11:13; I Peter 4:8).

The Bible tells us our speech (like everything else), is a gift from God meant to glorify Him and uplift others. God cares deeply about the words we speak to each other (Matthew 5:22; 12:36). We are instructed to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and build one another up with our words (Acts 20:32; Romans 14:19; etc.).

Let me offer an example. The Bible tells us a lot about the immorality, strife and problems at the Church in Corinth. They were a mess. Despite this, the Apostle Paul goes out of his way to address them as “saints,” express thanksgiving for what they are doing right, and thank God for them (I Corinthians 1:2-9 and II Corinthians 9:1-2). That is what the Bible means when it says we should be speaking with grace (Colossians 4:6), it means to speak of people as if they were better than they are; covering over their sin, and praising what they’re doing right. This gives people a powerful motivation to live up to your good opinion of them and encourages them in their right choices. When we condemn and speak evil of others, it lets them off the hook and often convinces them to be what they’ve been called since that’s all they’ll ever be known for. Because we are made in God’s image, we tend to create whatever we speak into people’s lives. So the question we must ask is: “Do we want to be adding more bitterness, sin and pain to the lives of people around us, or would we like our words to make the world a better place by building others up?” 

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