A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.
—Proverbs 11:13
Gossip is a sweet treat that is hard to resist: “Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it! (Prov. 26:22 TEV). That’s too bad, because its aftertaste is fractured relationships: “a gossip separates close friends” (Prov. 16:28).
You can’t unspeak what has been spoken. The flip side is that what is unspoken can’t be repeated. “The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet” (Prov. 10:19 GNT).
“Without wood, a fire will go out, and without gossip, quarreling will stop” (Prov. 26:20 NCV). Once fire burns through the wood it feeds on, it goes out; and once gossip reaches someone who refuses to repeat it, it dies.
“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3).
Nothing travels faster than light,
with the possible exception of gossip.