Barbara Walters said, “Show me someone who never gossips, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t interested in people.”

An interesting perspective. I’d finish the sentence differently, I’d say, “and I’ll show you someone who really cares about people.”

Gossip is destructive behavior that obliterates character and sows discord among people. Gossiping is not an innocent behavior that we should tolerate. We should avoid it, and gossipers at all costs.

Proverbs 20:19 NASB “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, Therefore do not associate with a gossip.”

A small town in Colombia has had enough of malicious gossip and has passed a law making gossip a crime punishable by up to four years in prison. The official decree issued by the community of Iconozo, located 40 miles south of Bogotá states, "Human beings must be aware and recognize that having a tongue and using it to do bad is the same as having dynamite in their mouths."

Some residents are not fond of the new law calling it "ridiculous", but resident Edelmira Giron says the decree, which also calls for fines up to $150,000 for spreading false rumors, has had an impact because it makes people think twice about what they say. The town's mayor Jesus Ignacio Jimenez says that in a violent country such as Colombia, gossip can have serious consequences. He recalled a case when a local man was killed because someone claimed he belonged to an insurgent group. He says others have been jailed based on similar false accusations. In an interview Jimenez said, "It's a tradition for gossip to spread through small towns and it's a part of life, but what is worrying is that people are going to jail or being murdered due to gossip." Jimenez admits no one has been arrested on charges of gossiping yet, but believes sooner or later it will happen. He adds, "They just haven't been caught."

—Associated Press, Colombian Town makes gossip a crime, May 17, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

James 3:8-9 MSG "but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. [9] With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image."

One of the less noble results of internet technology is the prevalence of gossip on the net. Anonymous gossip sites have hit college campuses especially hard. Comment sites, many run by students, allow other students to make accusations than many times turn out to be salacious gossip.

Students who are victims of the gossip can ask that their names be removed and at most sites, they are removed. Colleges would like to stop the harmful comments but so far, the law has been on the side of free speech.

In an atmosphere where society has shunted many cultural mores aside, it is not surprising that gossip is rampant as well. After all, the Bible lists gossip among some of the other sins.

“being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,” (Romans 1:29 NASB95)

Proverbs 20:19 (NASB) “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, Therefore do not associate with a gossip.”

Frank McAndrew, a psychology professor at Knox College says gossip helped early humans avoid untrustworthy or threatening members of their own tribe. “Our intense interest in gossip is not really a character flaw,” McAndrew says. “It’s a tool for survival.”

--The Week, June 10, 2011 p. 24 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

A professor, who finds that something as harmful as gossip is a positive characteristic, obviously has never been the victim of a gossip.

Proverbs 20:19 (ESV) Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

In traditional journalism, reporters confirm information with two outside sources before reporting it. With the advent of citizen journalism afforded by social media the normal safeguards and restraints are no longer in place—some read something, and then pass it along as fact.

Reporter Miles Parks gives Social Media users the following advice, “. . .if you're seeing yourself have an emotional response to something on the Internet, check the information before you share it.” —Jim L. Wilson

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/23/798809217/how-to-spot-2020-election-disinformation

At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say.