aka: Let’s all take several seats and check our sources, shall we?
We love a little tea, don’t we? Something about being “in the know” feels like power wrapped in connection. And when someone hurts you—or someone you love—the urge to pour yourself a hot cup of righteous indignation and serve it to a few close friends (or your entire group chat) can feel almost… spiritual.
But here’s the thing about tea: if it’s brewed in bitterness, it burns everyone who drinks it. Even the one holding the kettle.
Lately, I’ve found myself standing in the fallout zone of some false narratives. Not your run-of-the-mill misunderstandings, but full-blown fiction with just enough facts sprinkled in to sound convincing. The kind of storytelling that edits out key details, slaps a bow on the pain, and passes it around like a plate of gluten-free cookies—looks wholesome, but leaves you queasy.
And the damage? It’s not theoretical. It’s personal. It hurts people I love. It splits families. It hardens hearts.
They say “hurt people hurt people”—and yes, that’s often true. But here’s what we forget: hurt doesn’t equal honesty. Sometimes pain distorts. And when distorted pain becomes a viral narrative, it can quietly destroy the reputation of someone who did nothing wrong. Or, at the very least, nothing that warranted public stoning via passive-aggressive status updates.
And then social media? Oh, it tosses gas on the whole situation.
We scroll past a photo or read a vague post and suddenly think we’re Nancy Drew with a moral compass. “I saw that one photo. She didn’t even smile. Something’s definitely going on.”
Really?
Do we know the heart? The history? The conversation that happened before or after that post?
Probably not.
And that’s where the Holy Spirit—who thankfully doesn’t need a Wi-Fi signal—whispers:
“That’s not your business.”
🍵 The Problem With “Just Talking About It”
Let’s get into it. The Bible doesn’t leave a lot of gray area on gossip. It’s never labeled as a personality quirk or a coping mechanism. It’s destructive.
“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.”
— Proverbs 18:8
Translation? Gossip sticks. It’s the bad glitter of human behavior—it goes places it shouldn’t and is almost impossible to clean up.
Even when we think we’re just processing…
Even when we slap a “bless her heart” on the end of the sentence to soften the blow…
Even when we start with, “I probably shouldn’t say this, but—” (Girl. If you’re saying that? You definitely shouldn’t say it.)
🙊 Why We Gossip (Even When We Know Better)
Spoiler: it’s not because we’re mean. We gossip because:
- We want to be included
- We want to protect someone we care about
- We want to feel morally superior (ouch)
- We’re hurt—and we want that pain to feel justified
The tricky part? It’s all very relatable.
The dangerous part? It’s all very flesh-driven.
When we repeat something that doesn’t belong to us—especially if it subtly (or not-so-subtly) tears someone down—we stop being peacemakers and start being spiritual pot-stirrers. And nobody needs more of those.
🕊️ The Better Way
Jesus never said, “By this everyone will know you’re mine—by how eloquently you take people down in the comments section.”
He said we’d be known by our love.
Love holds its tongue.
Love double-checks the facts.
Love refuses to write people off based on curated half-truths and relational cliff notes.
Love might want to vent, but love also wants to obey.
And yes—it’s hard. But so is cleaning up the aftermath of words we can’t take back.
🙏 A Prayer for Day 1
Lord, I want to be a woman who speaks life, not suspicion.
When I’m tempted to repeat something that isn’t mine to share, stop me mid-sentence—preferably before I hit “send.”
When I feel justified in taking verbal aim at someone else’s character, remind me of how You covered mine.
Heal the places in me that need validation more than transformation.
And give me the wisdom to know when silence is not weakness—but worship.
Amen.
💡 Reflect & Reset
- Have I ever believed or repeated a story that turned out to be distorted—or one-sided?
- Have I been misrepresented? How did it feel?
- What might shift in me if I paused before every comment, post, or share and asked: “Does this build, or does this burn?”
