No Paycheck for Gossip

I’ve come to realize something profound:

A good lawyer can be celebrated; a skilled speaker can be paid…
But a wonderful gossip has never received an award or a paycheck.

Wisdom demands silence when the urge comes to advertise the weaknesses, failures, and misfortunes of others.

Let’s be honest: gossip is free broadcasting without sponsorship!
You become a self-appointed newscaster of other people’s pain, and nobody is paying for that airtime.

Think about it:
Has gossiping ever increased your net worth?
Has it ever earned you respect or peace of mind?
Have you ever seen a job vacancy titled “Professional Gossip Wanted”?

Of course not.
Because to bring someone down, you must first stoop low yourself.

Gossip destroys friendships, scatters churches, ruins businesses, and tears families apart.
It’s a virus of wrong thinking a product of idle minds that refuse to think creatively.

Proverbs 11:13 says,

“A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.”

If you don’t engage your mind with meaningful work, you’ll soon use your mouth to destroy your destiny.

Stop inventing stories with your lips about what your eyes never saw.
And remember: the fact that someone told you doesn’t make it true!

Don’t hang around people who discuss others.
Stay close to those who discuss ideas.

Read books.
Build your mind.
Engage your time wisely.

Gossip smells like sewage deadly and offensive.
And whoever gossips to you will one day gossip about you.

When next someone comes with “gist,” ask them:

“What joy do you derive in this?”
“What exactly is your gain here?”

Those who spend their lives talking others down can never rise up.

If you have nothing good to say about someone, keep your mouth shut.
A closed mouth catches no flies.

Silence seldom hurts.
And nobody will ever call you to defend what you didn’t say.

Sometimes, silence is the loudest form of wisdom.
Stay quiet long enough and people might start calling you a philosopher.