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More On Gossip

Many years ago we knew a U.S. Air Force Chaplain. He and his family stayed in our home for a few days while we were gone. His name was Augie Kilpatrick. On one occasion my wife, Bessie, asked Augie how he handled gossip. He had a ready answer.

“I take out my little pocket notebook and write down, word for word, what I am being told. After I have taken it all down, I read it back to the person and ask him if it is correct and is it true. With an affirmative answer I hand him the notebook and my pen and say, “Please sign here.”

Many years ago we arrived in a new town and had settled into our home and church. We had barely got settled when Bessie got a phone call from a woman in the church. She had some gossip about someone else in the church. Bessie asked, “Is that true?” The answer was “yes.” Bessie said, “Let’s you and I go see her and correct her.” “If you go to see her, don’t tell her that I told you?”

This does not stop gossip, but it does keep you out of the circuit. Normally, we are left out of the loop. When people come to see me, they know I am going to tell them to go to the person directly. They also know that I know that they are not going to do that. They come to me, not so that I can pass it on, but so that I will seek the truth and take biblical action.

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