Alas! Gossiping is now Life.

There was once a time when we called a friend to a hideout or a secluded corner to talk about a third party, there was once a time when we consciously and intentionally talked down a third party in the face of people or someone who held the person in high esteem, there was a time when people's stare and gaze was because there is something striking about your presence that moment. The reverse is just the case now! It's almost always certain that you are being stared at in the office, school or apartment cos you have been a subject of gossip, we don't need to be any conscious or intentional, it's almost reflex to talk a third party down not caring about endangering the person's relationship with the discussants, gossiping is no more discreet, it's just very normal that it can be done right under the subject's nose. Gossiping is now a language!

"The only thing worse about not being talked about is not being talked about" - Oscar Wilde.

They say 66% of all human communication is social and involves talking about ourselves and others but really in most cases it's all idle talk these days as what we really do right now is attack, we empower ourselves and disempower the other person and we think in our 'church mind' we are just gisting our talk partner about the other person meanwhile what we are really doing is hurt people's feelings and reputations creating an unhealthy atmosphere.

Gossip is now like a virus (this is latent in everyone) that needs to be killed as people are so much influenced by gossip about others when it contradicts what they've seen with their own eyes (well who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?). We see most gossipers as people who possess good information that others don't have.
There is an assertion that less than 10% of gossip deliberately false while the more than 90% are attempts to get at the truth of the matter but I fear that it's actually the other way round. People share gossip without any form of thought of how it might impact the person it is about. Gossip almost always causes pain and humiliation for the person it is about. It is always calumnious.

People gossip unconsciously to
 • Feel better by talking about others and deflect attention from themselves.
 • To feel accepted in their circle.
 • To get attention.
 • To gain powers.
 • To get revenge as a result of envy.
 • To relieve boredom.

But as Mary Gormanty White, a human right resource expert suggests, I strongly recommend that we consciously
 • Rise above gossip.
 • Understand what causes or fuels the gossip.
 • Don't participate in it.
 • Allow the gossip to fade away on its own - resist the urge to react or get revenge.
 • If it persists "gather facts and seek help".

"I am afraid that somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.
2 Cor 12:20b

And besides that, going around from house to house they learn to be lazy, and they are not only lazy, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things they should not.
1 Tim 5:13

Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God.
3 Jn 1:11" - The Bible.

'GOSSIP IS SOCIALLY AND INTELLECTUALLY UNPRODUCTIVE'

Testing For Gossip

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"
“Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

“Triple Filter Test?"
“That's right," Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you're about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said. "Actually I just heard about it and …"
"Alright," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know if it's true or not. Now let us try the second filter; the filter of Goodness. Is what you're about to tell me about my friend something good?"
“No; on the contrary."
“So," Socrates continued, "You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there is one filter left; the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really!"
"Well," concluded Socrates, "If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

GOSSIP DIES WHEN IT HITS A WISE PERSON'S EARS!
GOD BLESS US ALL WITH THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM.