GOSSIP: WHAT WILL THEY SAY?
Three elderly men were talking about what their grandchildren would be saying about them fifty years from now. The first one said, "I would like my grandchildren to say, ’He was a hard worker."
The second one said, "50 years from now, I want them to say, ’He was a loyal family man." Turning to the third person, he asked, "So what do you want people to say about you in fifty years?"
"Me?" the third one replied. "I want them to say, ’He certainly looks good for his age!’"
The truth is we all want people to say nice things about us. We all want to be loved. We all want to be affirmed. We all want to be appreciated. And that’s one of the reasons why gossip is so hypocritical. We want people to say nice things about us. But when we rip other people behind their backs, we’re denying them the very love and encouragement we want for ourselves.
(From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, "Getting Rid of Gossip" 1/16/2009)