If you blow on a spark, it will glow; if you spit on it, it will be put out;
yet both come out of your mouth. Curse the gossips and the double-tongued,
for they destroy the peace of many. Slander has shaken many and scattered
them from nation to nation; it has destroyed strong cities; and overturn the houses of the great.
Sirach 28: 1-14
* The wiles of the tongue should not be underestimated. From the tongue
comes virtue and sin. The tongue could be used to speak good words to
uplift. On the other hand, the tongue could also be used to attack and
put down people.
Slander is a sin because it is a bare demeaning of the image of a person
of whose origin is the glorious Image of God! It is a sin because it is
generally spoken with another covertly, reminiscent of the
Genesis story when the serpent said,"You will not die for God knows
if you eat of it your eyes will be opened , and you will be God, knowing
good and evil. The first lie! The first slander thrown against the Greatest
Almighty.
So when one slanders, one is repeating that first incident and it's just
a flashback. The only difference is that one is committing the sin against
his fellow neighbor.
Gossiping about one's neighbors is not a pleasing hobby or preoccupation.
Aside from the fact that it destroys, it could bring curses to one's life.
When one does this vicious work against his neighbor, the other party
could not defend himself. It does not respect human dignity and it is
an injustice. God sees everything done in the dark! One has to account
for what was done in the dark and it will be brought to light for everyone
to see. Avoid gossiping for you are a child of God! A child of God does
not do things that demean...for love is not cruel...love is not rude!
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