Marcus Aurelius Is Quoted as having said, “If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.” Good advice, but how often is it not followed when it involves personal information about someone? So often gossip is not true, but even if it is true, it should not be said if it is not good. Paul, in advising us how to direct our thoughts, tells us to think about whatsoever things are true; but he does not stop, he continues to say that the things we think about should also be honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. There are many true ‘things’ that should never pass our lips because they do not measure up to the other tests.
Socrates used a triple filter test. When a friend came to Socrates with a juicy bit of gossip, Socrates replied, “Before you tell me this bit of gossip, will it pass my triple filter test? First of all, what you are about to tell me, is it true?” The man replied that he was not sure; he had heard it but could not verify its truthfulness. Socrates continued by saying, “You want to tell me some gossip but you are not positive that it is true.” “Well,” said Socrates, “Is what you are about to tell me good?” “No,” the man replied, “it certainly is not good.” “So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something that may not be true and it certainly is not good. Let us give this bit of gossip the final of the three filter tests: Is what you are about to tell me going to be useful to me?” Again the man had to confess that no, it would not be useful to Socrates. So, in his wisdom, Socrates then said, “Well, if you are not sure it is true, you know it is not good, and you tell me that it will not be useful to me, why then tell it to me?”
If only each of us would use this triple filter test when someone comes to us with a juicy bit of gossip, it certainly would stop gossip right in its tracks.
We might think that gossip is harmless enough, but listen to what the wise man Solomon has to tell us about it: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” How terrible it is to reveal something that was told to us in confidence. Gossip can cause heartache and trouble, as Solomon warns when he tells us, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.” “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.” Of the seven things Solomon tells us that the Lord hates, numbers two and six have to do with telling lies and number seven involves sowing discord.
Paul was concerned about the spiritual welfare of those who lived in Corinth, and he expressed his fears that when he came to visit them he would discover some problems. What problems were they? He tells them, “For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.”
When Peter lists some very serious sins, he lumps being a busybody right in with murderers and thieves when he writes: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” No doubt most of us can honestly plead “not guilty” to murder and stealing, but what about being a busybody? What about passing on a piece of gossip? We need to realize that in the eyes of the Lord, passing on malicious gossip, sometimes called character assassination, is a grievous sin.
We should filter our thoughts by Paul’s standards and apply Socrates’ triple filter test. Not only do we need to control our urge to gossip, but also we must refuse to listen to gossip others want to tell us. Certainly being a gossip and betraying a confidence can cause much discord and is one of the items Solomon listed as things God hates.
Marcus Aurelius and Socrates both told us to tell only the truth. But from Paul we also have learned that what we listen to has to be more than true, for it also must be honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. If only these kinds of things filled our minds and passed our lips we would solve the problem of gossip and of sowing discord. Paul’s wish for Timothy would also apply to us, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One