How do we respond when someone gossips to us? A coworker told me that she liked an old boss of mine. I was still hurting from embarrassment that that boss had inflicted on me and responded. “Often, right in front of our patients, she would yell, “Don’t do that!” Then she would proceed to tell us what she thought we were doing wrong. My coworker responded, “Since I’m a Christian, I’ll be sure not to pass that on.” Ouch! My coworker thinks I’m gossiping and that I’m not a very good Christian! Was I wrong in what I said to my coworker? Absolutely. My mother used to say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” We’ve all heard that expression, and it’s an excellent rule to follow when we have a goal of passing on God’s love. Was my coworker wrong in her response? Absolutely. I felt like she punched me in the face. Most likely she forgot her response because we never apologized to one another (also wrong!) How then should we respond when someone gossips to us? We have to be careful not to gossip back, and we have to respond in love. How might you have responded in love to my statement about my boss?
Blog – Day 5 – Responding to gossip with love
I am not so sure that a fact that leads to an opinion is gossip. I guess I would be praying for the boss and co-worker to be kinder and more sensitive to someones feelings.
Thanks, Pam. Your comment is a reminder to me to pray for myself in the area of being sensitive to someone’s feelings. I always want people to be sensitive to my feelings, like we all do, but I feel that I fall short in being sensitive to other’s feelings.