A rumor is a social cancer that is difficult to contain and it rots
the brains of many. So many
people find rumors enjoyable that they could grow to a very dangerous
proportion.
In his New Year 2014 resolutions list, Pope Francis
listed gossip as pastime or hobby of many and considered it as one of the most
evil activities. The Catholic leader denounces gossip as “murder.” He
feels so strongly about it that in less than a year as pontiff, Pope
Francis has preached against gossip in at least six different instances.
He said that when we gossip, we are doing what Judas
did and begin to tear the other person to pieces; that every time we
judge our brothers in our hearts or worse, when we speak badly of them
with others, we are murdering Christians; and there is no such thing as
innocent slander.
Lord,
keep Your arms
around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth. |
Usually the victim of
rumor does not have the chance to explain himself. All the whispers are
behind his back and he is usually left with no means of clearing his
name for everyone seems to crave for a
chance to add more fuel to the fires of gossip.
The whispers could become
so loud sometimes that we think we will drown in them. It is
passed on and on until some brave soul questions its validity; that
brave soul refuses to bite the apple nor let the apple eat him and
expose the truth.
Many have
fallen by the edge of the sword but not as many as by the tongue.
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Truth
is not exciting enough to many people and they look after on the character, lives
and reputation of their neighbors for amusement. These offensive
behaviors (rumors, gossiping or backbiting) are usually rooted out
of envy/jealousy, resentment, vengeance, struggle for
power and recognition or out of boredom.
The desire to get ahead,
to do better than others, to have others look up to them, or at
least to make it hard for others to look down on them, are usually
the main reasons for these disgusting behaviors.
These
people rarely blame themselves
but others, for their incoherent and confused life. They are unhappy,
lack spirituality; have no warmth to
give at home, work, church, play, nor love. They complain all the time and only think what is good for them. They
use other people; they are
afraid to use themselves up and in desperation try to destroy others
like the old man in
the following narrative.
Once
an old man spread rumors that his neighbor was a thief. As a result,
the young man was arrested. Days later the young man was proven
innocent. After being released he sued the old man for wrongly
accusing him.
In the court the old man told the
judge: “They were just comments,
didn’t harm anyone.” The judge told the old man: “Write all the
things you said
about him on a piece of paper. Cut them up and on the way home,
throw the pieces of paper out. Tomorrow, come back to hear the
sentence."
A boomerang returns back to the person who throws it. But first,
while moving in a circle, it hits its target. So does gossip.―
Vera Nazarian |
Next day, the judge told the
old man: "Before receiving the sentence, you will have to go out and
gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday."
The old man said: "I can't do
that! The wind spread them and I won't know where to find them."
The judge then replied, "The
same way, simple comments may destroy the honor of a man to such an
extent that one is not able to fix it. If you can't speak well of
someone, rather don't say anything."
Some people like to think the worst. They like to have hushed gossip
sessions and point their fingers at someone's activities or
problems that are more
obvious than their own. They would say bad things about others, because it is the only way
their insignificant self can feel better than others.
Words
have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles and once spoken can
never be recalled. Let us all be masters of our mouths, so that
we won't be slaves of our words.
Related page:
Similarities Between Gossip and Rumor
By Tim Pedrosa
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browser, like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, if
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A good word will spread in the grapevine, bringing forth clusters of
grapes and the benevolent of wine; a bad word will spread withering
the vines, and choke the potential grapes.―
Anthony Liccione
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