In other words, you don’t gossip: “A gadabout gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13 The Message).

What is gossip? Gossip is talking about a situation with someone who is neither the problem nor a part of the solution. Often, when we do it, it’s because gossip makes us feel a bit more important at someone else’s expense. We’re talking about their hurts and their problems to make us feel like we’re morally superior. That’s the danger and the hurt of gossip.

The Bible says if you’re acting as a gossip, you can’t be trusted. Today, we see gossip run rampant on social media, even among Christians. We need men and women of integrity who know how to keep a confidence and not spread everything they hear through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all the other channels we have to communicate today.

Gossip, whether it’s on social media or in person, will tear churches apart. That’s why at Saddleback we’ve made it a rule that what is said in a small group stays there. Everyone needs a safe place with a few friends where they can be real and not have to worry that what they say will go public.

God says, “Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool” (Proverbs 10:18 GNT).

No one wants to be a fool. Spreading gossip doesn’t just hurt the people you’re talking about. It also hurts you by weakening and destroying your relationships.

You demonstrate integrity when you can be trusted to keep a confidence and to not speak behind someone’s back.