Someone said, “God made the country, man made the city, and the devil made the small town.” He could have had your town in mind. Most people at one time or another contribute to the spread of idle gossip and groundless rumors. Rare indeed is the person who will let such information end with his hearing.
While most people participate in rumors about others, few people appreciate being the object of rumors. Great harm can be done by idle talk. We often hear people say, “Talk is cheap.” But cheap talk can be costly. A wartime slogan warned about careless and thoughtless talk. It said, “The slip of the lip will sink a ship.” So can a life be brought to ruin by careless talk. The Bible warns, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly” (Proverbs 18:8).
What is the solution for idle rumors? Let the rumor end with you. This takes tremendous self-discipline but brings tremendous satisfaction. The Bible says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth” (Proverbs 26:20). The old Quaker poem “Three Gates” gives us good advice at this point:
If you are tempted to reveal
A tale to you someone has told
About another, make it pass
Before you speak, three gates of gold.
These narrow gates: First, “Is it true?”
Then, “Is it needful?” In your mind
Give truthful answer. And the next
Is last and narrowest, “Is it kind?”
And if to reach your lips at last,
It passes through these gateways three,
Then you may tell the tale, nor fear
What the result of speech may be.
“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23).