Are you in an atmosphere where gossip prevails? I remember a time in my old business days when gossip was rampant. We always called gossip the “rumor mill.” It was a time of great upheaval and unrest and pending change. Intrigue lurked around every corner. Some made power plays and others tried to position themselves to benefit.<\/p>\n
My office became a revolving door for speculation. People dropped in to chew on the latest and speculate about what was going to happen next. We were all probably spending at least 50% of our time just talking; very little real work was getting done. One or two incidents started the ball rolling and now it was becoming a giant snowball speeding down a steep hill.<\/p>\n
As time went on I began to feel a heavy dragging weight. It almost felt suffocating. I dreaded going into work where the gossip cycle would rev up again and spin out of control all day long. I wanted to be away from it all; I wanted to be with people who knew nothing about our office politics. I wanted a way out.<\/p>\n
So gradually I stopped. I closed my door several hours a day and just worked. I resisted entering other’s offices to chat. When people dropped in I quit adding my two cents. I listened but didn’t comment. I started other conversations about non office subjects. If you wanted to run the rumor mill, I was no fun to be around anymore. Eventually the weight lifted and we all moved on and got back to business.<\/p>\n
Proverbs 26:20 says; “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”<\/b> If you are somewhere right now where there is a great gossip bonfire I have a suggestion for you: hide the wood!<\/p>\n
Here’s the audio version for your listening pleasure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n