The Game of Gossip

Gossip ~ from Bing Dictionary: 

     1. conversation about personal matters: conversation about the personal details of other people's lives, whether rumor or fact, especially when malicious 

     2. casual conversation: informal conversation or writing about recent and often personal events 

     3. habitual talker: somebody who habitually discusses the personal details of others' lives 

Do you remember the Gossip Game or perhaps (like me) you called it the Telephone Game? Where a group of kids would stand in a line or sit in a circle. The first kid would make up a sentence about someone. And each kid would whisper what they thought they heard into the next ear and so on . . . . . until the kid at the end would have to repeat the sentence out loud. Of course, the faster it was said the more jumbled it became and the funnier it was at the end!! 

Even the Bible warns about gossip: Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.  

This is just one of many verses addressing the problems of gossiping and those that partake in the gossip.

Have you noticed a trend?? We don’t gossip in person as much as we do ONLINE!! This new method of socializing lets us take bits and pieces and pass it on just because it sounded good. Politicians?? They have a market on it!! And I’m not saying which side is worse, they have both been actively “gossiping” for years!! And we fall for it!!

When you post something or email something, do you take the time to check it out for accuracy before passing it on? If we are saying something about someone, don’t we need to be sure that it is true?

I had never paid much attention to the posts, etc. and have been just as guilty, merrily reposting something I believed in just because . . . . . . . was it true??

A great place to check for some of these stories is Snopes.com. I have found a lot of half truths and rumors that I could have squashed had I checked there first.

This isn’t going to clean up all the gossip but wouldn’t it help if we each did our part? Perhaps we could set a good example for our kids.

Please join me and try to check for accuracy before passing something of substance on to the next person.

Thank you!!

Oh, and here is a piece of information that is TRUE, not rumor but FACT!!!! OnlineAuction.com has some of the best deals around!! Come check us out!!!