I’ve entitled our message for this morning “The Rumor Weed,” based on a Veggie Tale’s song. On one episode of Veggie Tales, Junior Asparagus and Laura Carrot learned just how easily rumors can get started when they accidentally launched a whopper of a tale about Larry-Boy’s butler, Alfred, being a robot! Before they knew it, their little story was spreading all over Bumblyburg like a weed! Thus, the characters had an opportunity to sing “The Rumor Weed Song.”
I want to read a few of the lyrics of this song: “It starts as a story. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not; but once you repeat it, it’s hard to defeat it. Now look at the mess that you’ve got! I’m a rumor weed! I’m a rumor weed! A tiny little story is all I need to make a big mess. I’m a rumor weed!”(1) A rumor, as this song implies, is kind of like a weed that grows so fast that it gets out of control, until you’re left with a big mess and you don’t know what to do.
This morning, we’re going to look at what the Bible has to say about spreading rumors. First of all, what is a rumor? According to Webster, a “rumor” is “a current story passing from one person to another, without any known authority for the truth of it.”(2) Closely related to rumor is gossip; and “gossip” is defined as “running from house to house, tattling and telling news.”(3) Rick Warren says, “Gossip is passing on information when you are neither part of the problem nor part of the solution.”(4) “A gossip” is “a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational [information].”(5)
I believe we can all agree that going around telling stories that have no facts behind them can make some big messes. However, some of us would say that it’s not gossip if what we share with others is factual. Gossip, as we just heard in some of our definitions, is sharing “any” personal or confidential information. It doesn’t have to be nonfactual to be considered gossip or rumors. Gossip, therefore, is openly sharing both nonfactual and factual personal information about someone else.
Rumors and gossip are things that we should avoid at all cost because the information we spread can be destructive to those individuals when shared with others. We’re supposed to strive to be like Christ in all that we do, and our God is not in the business of tearing down lives. He’s in the business of rebuilding and making all things new.
This morning, we’re going examine Proverbs 26:20-22 as our focal passage in discussing the destructive nature of rumors; however, we’re also going to look at a multitude of other verses. So, be prepared to flip to them when you hear them called out. Let us now stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word:
The Strife Caused by a Talebearer
20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. 21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body (Proverbs 26:20-22).
I like the way the New Century Version translates these verses. In this particular version we read this: “Without wood, a fire will go out, and without gossip, quarreling will stop. Just as charcoal and wood keep a fire going, a quarrelsome person keeps an argument going. The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food; people like to gobble them up.”
Rumors Will Add Fuel to the Fire
First of all, these verses tell us that whenever we gossip and spread rumors that it’s like throwing wood or fuel on a fire. Let me provide you with a possible example.
Let’s suppose that a fellow church member messes up and commits a terrible sin. If we know that this person has done something wrong in the eyes of God then we should first pray about it (James 5:15) and then confront the individual by ourselves (Matthew 18:15-17). Dealing with the person’s sin discretely will help him to be less defensive. It will also help the individual to be more humble in admitting their sin and accepting God’s forgiveness.
If we first go and tell everyone else about what the person’s doing, then he will become angry that people are judging him and condemning him, and talking behind his back. And he might resort to revenge and retaliate by spreading rumors about his attackers, and then people start growing to despise one another. It’s like a fire that just keeps growing higher and hotter.
Like a Fire, Rumors Will Grow Larger
Rumors themselves can become like a growing fire, because the longer they circulate the bigger and more ludicrous they become. It’s been said, “Rumor is one thing that gets thicker when you spread it.”(6)
You’ve probably had a schoolteacher or Sunday school teacher demonstrate the effects of gossip. If the teacher starts on one end of the classroom and tells a student a secret, and then has this individual pass the secret along from student to student, then by the time it reaches the other end of the classroom the story is completely twisted. It’s not what it was when it first started. The Scripture contains an excellent illustration of how a tale that’s passed along can become perverted:
John 21:20-23 says, “Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.’ Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’” So, we see in this passage, that even Jesus was subjected to rumors when His words were twisted by being told over and over.
Like Charcoal, Rumors Never Die Out
A rumor can be like charcoal in that many times it won’t die out. Have you ever noticed that charcoal or embers in a fire can look as though they have died out, but they have heat emanating from them? Have you ever experienced that if you just stir them up a little bit that they will re-ignite? Allow me to share an illustration:
“Abraham Lincoln’s coffin was opened in 1887 because a rumor had convinced many people that the pine box was empty. To the surprise of quite a few, Lincoln’s body was found just as it had been buried twenty-two years earlier. Some good rumors never die, though. Fourteen years later the same rumor circulated again. The critics would not be silenced, so Lincoln’s body was exhumed again.”(7)
Once you start a rumor, it’s almost impossible to retract. The only real way to stop a rumor is to never begin one. Proverbs 26:20 in the New Living Translation says, “Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.” If we cease to begin a rumor then it will never ignite, for we will be ceasing to throw any fuel on the fire.
The Scoundrels Who Need Salvation
Proverbs 16:27-28 says, “Scoundrels hunt for scandal; their words are a destructive [fire]. A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends” (NLT). Unfortunately many churches have a lot of fire starters and pyromaniacs in them, or “scoundrels,” as Proverbs 16:27 calls them.
The only real way to put out a fire is with water. I often wonder if people who are addicted to spreading rumors have ever tasted the water of life. If we know some people who are spreading rumors then we might just need to confront them with the gospel and share with them the living water that’s found in Jesus Christ. Only the living water of Jesus will douse the hearts of these rumor pyromaniacs, and put out the fires.
Like Food, Rumors Are Quickly Eaten
Next, we read in the New King James Version, “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body” (v. 22), or in the New Century Version, “The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food; people like to gobble them up.” It’s been said, “What dainty morsels rumors are. They are eaten with great relish.”(8) Why is it that rumors are something for which people appear to hunger? Why do people gobble them up so quickly?
People like rumors so much because they’re spiritually hungry. Also, many of the people who love to hear and tell rumors have way too much time on their hands and they’re just plain bored. 1 Timothy 5:13 says, “Besides that, they learn to waste their time, going from house to house. And they not only waste their time but also begin to gossip and busy themselves with other people’s lives, saying things they should not say” (NCV). Many people are trying to alleviate their boredom, or their mental and spiritual emptiness, by occupying their minds with rumors.
Instead of focusing on the negative things in life we should be filling that emptiness in our minds, and filling that spiritual hunger, with God’s Word. We’re advised in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” So, don’t do worldly things such as gossip, but allow your mind to be saturated and transformed by God’s Word. Matthew 4:4 says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” So, fill that emptiness and hunger with the words of the Bible.
Don’t Associate with Those Who Gossip
I have found one other helpful piece of advice in the Bible, unrelated to our main passage, which will help alleviate the spread of rumors; and I wish to begin elaborating with an illustration: “A monk once told his leader, ‘I am troubled in spirit, and I want to leave this place.’ The old man said, ‘Why?’ The monk said, ‘I have heard unedifying stories about one of the brothers.’ The old man said, ‘Are the stories true?’ He said, ‘Yes, Father. The brother who told me is a man of trust.’ The old man answered, ‘The brother who told you is not a man of trust. For if he was so, he would not have told you these stories’.”(9)
Relating to this illustration, Proverbs 11:13 says, “A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence” (NLT). First of all, we need to realize that people who go around talking are individuals we shouldn’t trust with confidential information. So, what should we do? Proverbs 20:19 tells us, “A gossip tells secrets, so don’t hang around with someone who talks too much” (NLT). So, if you’re tired of hearing about rumors floating around, then stop associating with those who gossip.
Advice from Recent Research on Gossip
I want to leave one last thought for those of you who tend to gossip. Before you talk about someone behind their back, take a minute to ponder the results of some recent research on gossip:
“Dr. John Skowronski, a psychology professor at Ohio State University, was the lead author of a study that assessed the effects of gossip. They discovered that people who hear your gossip will actually associate the message with you. If you talk about someone who is dishonest, the person hearing you tell the story will associate that characteristic with you as well. Likewise, if you sing the praises of someone who is getting a degree from Harvard, you will be remembered as intellectual.”
“Dr. Skowronski said, ‘It’s a memory mistake. You listen to the descriptions of others’ actions without thinking much about it. Later, when you search your thoughts about the person who told you, you subconsciously associate them with their description of someone else’.”(10) So, if you like to gossip and you’re always telling negative things, then people are going to begin to think negatively of you; so watch the things that you say and do.
Time of Reflection
Now, in our message this morning we’ve learned five things that can alleviate the spread of rumors: 1.) We should confront the person with whom we have a dispute, instead of telling everyone else about the problems that we’re having with so and so; 2.) we should abstain from starting a rumor in the first place; 3.) the people who are spreading rumors should be lovingly confronted with God’s Word; 4.) the individuals who are spreading rumors need to occupy their minds with positive things, like God’s Word, instead of dwelling on negative things such as rumors; and 5.) we need to stop spending time with those who gossip.
If you’ve ever been turned off from the church by those who gossip then I want to encourage you not to allow these people to become a hindrance in your walk with God. People, even if they are Christians, are going to sin because we live in a fallen and sinful world. So, let us confront these individuals and try to help them rather than run away from confrontation.
Let’s not stop attending church because of the few who gossip. We should never allow any human being to separate us from God. We should never allow those who aren’t walking in close fellowship with the Lord to control our own relationship with God, or to control our church’s relationship with the Lord.
I stated earlier that some people who tend to gossip might need to be confronted with the gospel message and find salvation in Jesus Christ. This same advice hold true for anyone living in continual sin of any kind. If we’re walking in sin, then we probably don’t know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; for when an individual is saved, they experience a transformation in their life, and they begin to despise their former sinful habits.
There’s a consequence for sin. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death” – which means spiritual death; or rather, spending eternity in hell. But thank God the verse doesn’t stop there. It continues to declare, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I want to encourage you to search your heart this morning, and if the Lord has convicted you that you need to be forgiven of your sins, and receive eternal life in Christ Jesus, then please don’t hesitate to walk the aisle and pray to receive Him into your heart and life.
NOTES
(1) The Ultimate Veggie Tales Web Site, “The Rumor Weed Song,” taken from the Internet June 2003 at http://www.ultimateveggie.com/lyrics/lyrics12.html.
(2) Noah Webster, 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2002).
(3) Ibid.
(4) Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), p. 164.
(5) The Merriam-Webster Concise School and Office Dictionary (Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1991), p. 223.
(6) Bob Phillips, Encyclopedia of Good Clean Jokes (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992), p. 241.
(7) Today in the Word, Feb. 1991, p. 27.
(8) Phillips, p. 241.
(9) “Sayings of the Desert Fathers,” translated by Owen Chadwick, in Western Asceticism (Westminster, 1983).
(10) Prevention, Aug. 1998, p. 40.
