Gossip is... Useless.

Exodus 23:1 (MSG)
"Dont pass on malicious gossip. Don't link up with a wicked person and give corrupt testimony."

Everyday, I go to school and hear some sort of gossip, and going to school where there's about 200 people in the entire high school, gossip goes around like wildfire.

No matter where you live or go to school at, you're always exposed to some sort of gossip, even on the television. You think it's not gossip when we watch TMZ or The Insider and we hear a rumor about celebrities? It's still gossip being spread.

I know we all spread rumors when we hear them, whether you mean to or not. I know I do it from time to time.

Here's the thing though: God does not like gossip. With gossip, you're getting information from a different and unreliable source. Someone may actually stretch the truth and make it seem far from what happened or what it really is. It's hurtful for that person who the rumor is about, but also causes confusion.

Proverbs 18:8 (MSG)
"Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you really want junk like that in your belly?"

Do you really want to be exposed to malicious gossip? Well, of course we don't.
With the world the way it is right now, we're always exposed to gossip in one way or another. What do you do about it? You can't stop gossiping from happening, but you can always do this:
-If someone is gossiping, let them know (nicely, of course) that it isn't really polite to be talking about others like that, and ask them to stop.
-Ignore the gossip. If you ignore it, you can't spread it.
-Go talk to that person who the gossip is about. You'll get the best results going to the source, and they'll know what is going around.

Ephesians 5:4 (MSG)
"Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better use for language like that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect."

God wants us to love each other, and to spread that love towards one another. If we spread gossip instead of love, then are we really doing what God wants? Let's not spread hate.

Heavenly Father,
We know you do not like gossip, and how hurtful and malicious it is. I ask that you forgive us, for all who have spread or even started gossip recently, and that we have the wisdom to think before we say, so that it is not hurtful for anyone, or even ourselves.
Amen.