Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. (2 Timothy 2:16)

If we cut off a piece of tail of the lizard, they continue to survive, dropping a piece of dead flesh here and there, then regenerating as they slither along.

We get that image in our mind when we read 2 Timothy 2:16. When we gossip, we’re a lot like lizards, slinking around corners, depositing bits of rotting tissue, and growing new “tails” to carry us along.

“Godless chatter” is important to think about in all our relationships, but it holds special significance for marriages. The more we interact with each other, the more potential we have for either encouraging or discouraging each other. We can affirm each other’s choices or erode each other’s spirits with silly suspicions, nagging or doubts.

What is the antidote to godless chatter? A word spoken against another human being is not usually the starting point of gossip. Nor does it constitute gossip. But there are various ways to react to someone else’s harsh assessment of another person: we can choose not to respond (in which case the matter most often dies); we can rebuff the negative judgment and argue about whose perception is accurate, or we can affirm the nasty chatter and add to it. It is only when a second person picks up the negative baton and starts running with it that gossip begins.

Godless chatter is an option, not a necessity. It begins when I take someone else’s story and add weight to it. Likewise, it stops when I carry it no further. We have a choice in the matter, Paul said. And the choice begins at home. We can indulge in gossip and become more ungodly, or we can end it and extend grace instead of a critical spirit toward others, thereby growing in godliness with our gracious Savior, Jesus Christ, and with each other.

LET’S TALK

1. What happens when one of us repeats a nasty bit of information about someone? Does the other spread it or squelch it?
2. How do we speak about each other to others? If we were to evaluate our comments or responses, from 1 (negative) to 10 (positive), what would be an average tally on a typical day?
3. What are some fundamental rules of communication that we might adopt to make our talk more beneficial to the Kingdom of God and to the health of our home?

Hope this devotion will help us evaluate where we as a family are standing in fighting against the deadly sin of gossiping, which is destroying relationships.