She said what?!

A certain someone once asked me if I was going to do a commercial because another someone told her I was..
and I was all.. "What? Sino may sabi?"
"Wala.. chismis lang"

Call me overreacting, but this is what I don't like about gossip. Don't get me wrong. I'm not pointing my finger at anyone here, this idea just came out after the whole thing happend.

In Ephesians 4:29 the bible teaches us to use our tongues to edify. ("Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benifit those who listen.") This basically means; and I quote from the age-old saying: "If you don't have anything GOOD to say, then don't say anything at all."

Lucky for me, the "chismis" wasn't really malicious.
But.. what if it was?
Well.. as I have learned in a family devotion once, gossip is a form of lying.
When we withhold information from others.. or exaggerate a story.. we are in sin.
Why? because we bear false against our neighbors. ("Now where did I hear that again?"- check out: Exo. 20:16) And what we fail to realize is that our lying can affect a lot of people! And instead of bringing each other up, our gossip tends to pull each other down. And as I have learned what you say can really go a long way. (talking from my "300" movie experience - don't ask) Sometimes we don't even mean to mislead others.. but because someone at some point added or subtracted information.. not only do WE get misled, but we mislead others.

Ever wonder why the gossip column page on magazines or the gossip segments on tv shows all talk about the negative things a person has done? Lets face it: we like to talk about other people, but we don't want other people to talk about US.

As my dad reminds my brother and myself sometimes:
"What's the matter? You dish it out, but you can't take it in?"

So how do we avoid being gossiped about?
It has to start with US. I remeber my mom telling me "If you don't want people to talk about you, then don't talk about them!" I have a theory.. that if everyone [as in EVERYONE meaning, nobody is excluded..] applies this, we can all get rid of gossip once and for all.

Let us strive to build each other up, and not pull them down with our words..
"So each of you must get rid of your lying. (*including gossip!*) Speak the truth to your neighbor. We are all parts of one body." - Ephesians 4:25

Oh, and.. for your information..
I am NOT doing a commercial. :P