What do you consider the worst sins? It’s easy to think of murder and stealing as a heinous sin. Do you consider Gossip sin? I didn’t make my list either. Gossip is one of those acceptable sins that I tend to ignore Probably because it is a sin I struggle with…
Why is it that Gossip is still something that lives and breaths in my life?!?!? This is one I’ve struggled with since childhood and still it rears its ugly head in me! But we see that Gossip steals our Peace of mind.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” Philippians 4:8 NASB.
![Less Gossip Leads to Peace of Mind [Peace Series Philippians 4:8]](https://i2.wp.com/hopejoyinchrist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Less-Gossip-Leads-to-Peace-of-Mind.jpg?resize=648%2C321&ssl=1)
This Word study has been helping me Battle Anxiety
Do you struggle with Anxiety? I’d love to share a 40-day reading and Journaling Plan I use. It’s Free below.
So what does Good Repute mean?
Good Repute means ‘kind’ or ‘of a good report as a true friend’. The opposite of Good Repute would be Gossip.
Can thoughts be considered Gossip?
The truth is some days I wallow in negative, complaining, anxious thinking. The problem with letting my thoughts run wild is that they eventually come out of my mouth and hurt the people I love. Can you relate?
When I let those thoughts spin and spin in my head they get blown out of proportion, they take on a life of their own many times. I can justify why others need to hear them even when they are not based on facts or worse they are spin-offs of something shared by a 3rd party.
To Stop Gossip I have to run my thoughts and conversations through a series of Checks:
Thought Check # 1: If this thought left my mouth, would I wound that friendship?
Gossip ruins friendships. I have to be sure that if someone tells me something in confidence, I can be trusted with it (Proverbs 11:13).
If it would hurt them or make them think twice before confiding in me again, it is not of good repute.
When the thought fails this check:
I have to take hold of it and push it out of my mind so that it will not eventually come out of my mouth.
Thought Check # 2: Am I sharing this for selfish reasons?
If this conversation is for the theses reasons I need to stop it:
- When it could impress others
- Make me look important
- Proves a point
- Make others sympathize with me
Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
This verse could easily read “Don’t try to get ahead by hurting someone else.”
I have messed up on this one; hurt people to climb the ladder, used others trying to impress people… even by sharing them as “prayer requests”. (This is gossip if it was shared confidentially!)
Gossip seems good at the time but the Long Term results are not worth it!
When life gets hard, I will no longer be trusted… not by the person I betrayed or by the people who heard me.
Learning to stand on my own merit and experience required a change of thinking.
Stop Gossip before it has a Chance to Start!
There are many reasons to listen when someone shares hard things, sensitive things from a genuine Heart. But to stop the temptation to share them later I’ve changed my pattern.
- Pray for them in that moment and in my quiet time -just me a God (Matthew 18: 19-20).
- Encourage them often – privately (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
- Do not share even a hint of the situation unless they ask me to.
When I am talking with the person about the situation regularly it reminds me it is theirs, not mine to share.
Do you get sucked into Gossip before you realized it was happening? Me too! Wham just like that we are speculating about the situation or person when it is none of our business.
These are some ways to exit the conversation (but be warned people will act differently toward you for a while)
- “This sounds like gossip and I don’t want to talk about it.”
- “I’m not a part of that situation so I can’t say what is happening, let’s go talk to ‘so and so’ about it”
- “Have you asked ‘so and so’ directly, they would be the one to know?”
When we take our thoughts captive and work to avoid gossip we will have Peace of Mind. It is amazing to me how quickly it comes when I am intentional in thinking thoughts that are of “Good Repute”!
in HIM,
Tiffany
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Hi Jason! I am so new to the bloggosphere. A Contact Page is on my list of things “to do”. I love the writing part of blogging, but the designing is hard to understand. I am learning and hope to have that piece up soon. You can reach me at tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com or reach me on twitter @HopeJoyInChrist. I’d love any suggestions as I am learning everyday how to make this blog easily accessible and helpful to anyone visiting.
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Thanks. I have no idea what a paid topic is so I am guessing no. This is just me sharing what I am learning. So glad you enjoyed it!
I am not certain where you are getting your information, however great topic.
I needs to spend some time studying more or figuring out more.
Thanks for fantastic info I was in search of this info for my
mission.
I use several free online Bible Commentaries. I love Matthew Henry’s Commentary – I use https://www.biblegateway.com/ to access it. I also love https://www.blueletterbible.org/. I can dig into the original meaning of words there and see where they are used in other places in scripture. You can also hear how the Greek and Hebrew would sound if it were read… which is so much fun (I tend to be a word geek that way). Both are free and easy to use. I love how the internet makes digging into the word of God so much easier!
Hope that is helpful,
Tiffany
It’s impressive that you aare getting ideass from this article as welll as from our dialogue made at this place.
I am thankful for the dialogue. Reassures me people are listening and engaging. I find we learn from each other when we all add to the conversation – weather we agree or disagree -when it’s done with kindness!
Tiffany
Having read this I belieed it was really enlightening.
I appreciate you finding the time and effort tto put this informative article together.
I oncfe again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving
comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
well thanks again!
I do not even kknow how I ended up here, but I thought
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Thanks for that. I am just starting out as a blogger and I found it is so much fun (the writing, not the technical stuff- that actually hurts my head!) But I am glad you enjoyed it! If you want to be sure not to miss a post, subscribe on this page. I try to post 2 times per week and this will send them direct to your email :o)
I needed to thank you for thhis very good read!!
I absolutely loved every little bit of it.
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I am so glad you enjoyed it! If you want to be sure not to miss a post, subscribe on this page. I try to post 2 times per week and this will send them direct to your email :o)
When I originally commented I seem to have
clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now
on whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails
with the same comment. Is there a way you are able
to remove me from that service? Kudos!
oh no, sorry for that. I’ll see if I can fix it. Let me know if you still gt that!
Tiffany
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Thanks for encouragement! If you want to be sure not to miss a post, subscribe on this page. I try to post 2 times per week and this will send them direct to your email :o)
Pues no sé decirte, pero en mi anterior puesto de trabajo procuraron poner algo similar, creo que se llama fichaje biométrico (no fichas con huella sino más
bien con la forma de la mano) y después de tenerlo todo instalado y probado, jamás
entró en funcionamiento pues, conforme comentaron, los sindicatos afirmaron que aquello era ilegal.
Lucia,
Yo solo hablo un poco de español. Lo siento, pero no entiendo su comentario.
Gloria a Jesús solo,
Tiffany
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
Look advanced to far added agreeable from you! By the way,
how could we communicate?
Thanks for the encouragement. Feel free to email me at tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com
in HIM,
Tiffany
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
each time a comment is added I get three e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Many thanks!
I have been searching and searching for the answer and finally found it. Follow this link. https://subscribe.wordpress.com/ you should see |Sites| Comments| Settings| You can unsubscribe under the comments.
In my newness I didn’t even realize there was an option to subscribe to comments. I have found it in the code and removed that option on my page so it wont happen to anyone else.
Please let me know if that doesn’t help. I am also disabling comments to this post because it is getting so much spam. Please email me directly to let me know if this doesn’t fix the problem. I know it can be frustrating getting spam in your email!
in HIM,
Tiffany (tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com)
It’s amazing in support of me to have a website, which is useful for my knowledge.
thanks admin
Thanks for the comment Frieda!
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Hi Carmella. I designed what you see. WordPress is super easy to use. Id love to chat with you and answer any questions you have. Just shoot me an email. tiffanymontgomey@hopejoyinchrist.com
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Sure Tera. my email is tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com. I’d love to hear from you.
I like reading a post that can make men and women think. Also,
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Thanks Jacob. I can’t say what we would both enjoy, but I try to just write from an honest place. Hope to connect again soon!
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Hi Antayla! I am actually working toward that. Shoot me an email when you have time. tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com
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Thanks Amit. It is actually part of an 8 week series. I have pulled it into my newest series here. HOpe you enjoy http://hopejoyinchrist.fistbumpmedia.com/marriage-monday-week-10-love-thinks-no-evil/
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Thanks John. So glad you enjoyed it. I am a new blogger and hope to keep growing in my writing and designing skills. Can’t wait to connect again.
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Hi Janelle! I don’t spend a lot of time on Yahoo… I’ll have to go check it out. I tend to focus on Google. But I’d love to chat about it anytime. shoot me an email. tiffanymontgomery@hopejoyinchrist.com
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Pretty sure he will have a very good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
So glad it encouraged you F! Thanks for dropping by.
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It is a topic we don’t talk much about. Many thanks to you and your bother! 😉
An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment.
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To the next! All the best!!
Hi Linette! We sponsor a little girl in Africa with that name so it is special to me. I’m so glad you stopped by. If you enjoyed this about gossip you may also like http://hopejoyinchrist.fistbumpmedia.com/marriage-monday-week-10-love-thinks-no-evil/!
in HIM,
Tiffany
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After I initially commented I seem to have clichked the -Notify me whe
new comments are added- checkbox andd from now on whenever a comment is
added I receive 4 emails with the same comment.
There has to be a means you are able to remove me from that service?
Kudos!
So sorry about that. I have turned off comments on this post… because it attracts to much SPAM. But I can’t turn off the notifications for specific users. You need to go to wordpress.com and navigate to “Manage Subscriptions”. You can turn it off there for your gravitar. Sorry again for the long work around.