WHO AM I?
This poem was written by Donald P. Thornton in 1966. It was signed
Donti. He now goes by "Knowman." I am confident of his claims of
having written it. If you wish to reprint it, please check with him at
either of the following sites:
http://knowman.bravepages.com or
http://groups.msn.com/schooloftheprophets There are quite a few
pop ups to deal with on the first.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless; they cannot protect
themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I
become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and ruin marriages.
I end ministries set up by God.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make headlines, headaches and heartaches
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.
WHO AM I? I AM CALLED GOSSIP.
I come in many forms:
Church gossip
Office gossip
Shop gossip
Party gossip
Telephone gossip
Online gossip
Gossip (from Mountain Wings - thanks to Bob)
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a
neighbor.
Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned
was deeply hurt and offended. Later, the woman responsible for spreading the
rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went
to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.
"Go to the marketplace," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and
have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them
one by one along the road." Although surprised by
this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, "Now, go and collect all those feathers you
dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay the wind had blown all the
feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three
feathers in her hand.
"You see," said the old sage, "It's easy to drop them, but it is
impossible to get them back.
So it is with gossip.
It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do you can never completely
undo the wrong."
Author Unknown
The Anatomy of Gossip (from Christianity Today and
thanks to Marsha West)
The Anatomy of Gossip
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual
edification.
Romans 14:19 (NIV)
Galen (c. 130-200 A.D.) was an ancient Greek
physician who cast a long shadow over the late Roman Empire and the Middle Ages.
For well over a thousand years, Galen's descriptions of the inner
workings of the human body were upheld as authoritative by European and Islamic
scholars.
There was a problem, however: Galen had never
once dissected a human body! Because dissection of humans was forbidden in his
day, Galen's descriptions of the internal workings of human beings were based
almost exclusively on his dissections of pigs. It wasn't until the sixteenth
century that the work of Vesalius exposed Galen's unwarranted anatomical leap
from pigs to humans and gave birth to the modern science of human anatomy.
Before we come down too hard on Galen, though,
we should look at ourselves for a moment. If we do, we'll see that we also can
make unwarranted leaps based on insufficient or false information. Just think
back, for example, to a time when you heard some information about a certain
person second- or third-hand, passed it on to others, and then later found out
that the information was dead wrong.
Gossip's main purpose is to spread misery.
It's certainly not to build people up or minister to them in the name of
Jesus. A gossip's wake is littered by damaged families and broken relationships:
"A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close
friends" (Prov. 16:28).
As Christians, we're called to put the brakes
on the spread of gossip. And not only gossip about people we know, but also
gossip about those we don't know. Like others, I've been guilty of spinning
pretty little stories about certain political figures, even though I had no
proof that what I was saying even resembled the truth. I foolishly thought that
spreading gossip would make me more popular.
How about you? Are you modeling God's standard
of truthfulness and honesty? Are you known as someone who confronts gossip? Or
do you pass it on with a few added details of your own?
If you have a weakness in this
area, bring it before the Lord and ask trustworthy members of your church to
help hold you accountable. As you move beyond gossiping about others, you'll
find more time to show them the unconditional love of Jesus. And you might just
make a few new friends in the process.
Matt Donnelly, for the
ChristianityToday.com staff
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Gossip Town (thanks to Rafael)
Have you ever heard of Gossip
Town
On the shores of falsehood Bay,
Where old Dame Rumor with rustling gown
Is going the livelong day?
It isn't far to Gossip Town,
For people who want to go.
The Idleness Train will take you down
In just an hour or so.
The Thoughtless Road is a popular route,
And most folks start that way,
But it's steep down grade;
If you don't watch out,
You'll land in Falsehood Bay.
You glide through the valley of Vicious Town
And into the tunnel of Hate;
Then crossing the Add-To Bridge, you walk
Right into the city gate.
The principal street is called, "They Say,"
"I've Heard" is the public well,
and the breezes that blow from Falsehood Bay
are laden with, "Don't You Tell."
In the midst of the town is Tell Tale Park.
You're never quite safe while there,
For its owner is Madame Suspicious Remark,
Who lives on the street, Don't Care.
Just back of the park is Slanders Row.
'Twas there that Good Name died
pierced by a dart from Jealousy's bow,
in the hands of Envious Pride.
From Gossip Town, peace long since fled,
But envy, and strife and woe
And sorrow and care, you find instead,
If ever you chance to go.
- Anon.
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