Recently a friend told me that there had been a lot of gossip going on about our family, and then proceeded to tell me a dozen things that have been said. Some were about me and some were about my husband and my kids. All of them were false and I actually had to laugh at some of them, they were so ridiculous. I was given the opportunity to set the stories straight, which is a rare opportunity. Today in church I was given the answer as to why some “Christians” gossip about other believers. Here is he answer that God gave me:

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I John 4:20

The answer? He doesn’t love God. So, the next time you hear someone tearing another person down, quote this verse to them and see what they say.

The intent of gossip is to injure. Hatred is the motivation. It really doesn’t have anything to do with the person who’s being gossiped about. It all has to do with the heart that doesn’t love God.