Hello Everyone,
I haven't posted in a long time and I apologize for that. I made a comment several months ago about being bored and I have been busy since.
Over the last 18 hours I have been involved in a situation that prompted this post. As the situation that I have watched would be extremely embarrassing to the people involved, I will not mention anything about this particular one. I will say this though - I have no condemnation for anyone involved. If you are reading this and you are involved, you know who you are.
So let me start with one simple question. What do you do if you hear something bad about someone? We all know people who like to gossip. There are also people who tell you things just because they think you should know for some potential benefit to you - Read that just another excuse to gossip. Well, here are my thoughts on what to do and not do.
1. Don't go telling other people about a situation unless they need to be involved. You don't need to tell your best friend (boys or girls) about something that you heard bad about someone else. All you are doing is spreading the situation to more people and probably hurting some one's reputation in the process. Did you know that the bible says that we are to love our neighbor like we love ourselves? How do we do that? Well one way we do that is by not running around telling people about all the bad things we have heard about other people. See the bible also says love covers a lot of sins. Now I am not telling you to keep your mouth shut if you know someone is in danger or has been abused. In that case, go to someone who is in authority (your parents, a teacher you know or even the police if it is really serious) and tell them. But your best girl friend or best buddy really doesn't need to know.
2. Don't assume that just because you heard some rumor that it is true. I believe it was in the 1950s when some guy on a radio in New York City started a rumor on the radio about alien invasions that caused a big panic. It was just a joke but a lot of people got shook up over it. Also, I remember when I was in high school and the boys started talking about sex. I can tell you that 95% of what they said turned out to be untrue. Be careful not to judge someone just because you heard a rumor about them. That is a very dangerous thing to do and it can hurt people who don't deserve it.
3. If it really doesn't concern you then just forget it and keep on moving. Most of the time, when we hear things about our friends, we really don't need to know about it anyway. If someone walks up to tell you something bad about your friend, you can choose not to listen at all. After all, will it make you a better person to hear the rumor? Will it help you be helpful to your friend? Maybe but most of the time it won't.
4. Lastly, if you must know something about the rumor or the story you were told, go to the source. As many of you know, I have been divorced for about a year now. Well, before I got divorced someone started a rumor that I was having an affair on my wife and it was completely untrue. I never did anything like that. This particular rumor got back to someone I am very close to and instead of spreading the rumor or calling someone else to verify what she heard (read that still just spreading the rumor), she called me. It was a very loving act and I appreciate it to this day. She will always have a special place in my heart.
So let me conclude with this. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will kill you. Be careful what you say and hear about other people. It is best just to let rumors drop and die when you hear them but if you must discuss it with someone, call the source and get it straight.
That's Another Opinion of the Minion
I haven't posted in a long time and I apologize for that. I made a comment several months ago about being bored and I have been busy since.
Over the last 18 hours I have been involved in a situation that prompted this post. As the situation that I have watched would be extremely embarrassing to the people involved, I will not mention anything about this particular one. I will say this though - I have no condemnation for anyone involved. If you are reading this and you are involved, you know who you are.
So let me start with one simple question. What do you do if you hear something bad about someone? We all know people who like to gossip. There are also people who tell you things just because they think you should know for some potential benefit to you - Read that just another excuse to gossip. Well, here are my thoughts on what to do and not do.
1. Don't go telling other people about a situation unless they need to be involved. You don't need to tell your best friend (boys or girls) about something that you heard bad about someone else. All you are doing is spreading the situation to more people and probably hurting some one's reputation in the process. Did you know that the bible says that we are to love our neighbor like we love ourselves? How do we do that? Well one way we do that is by not running around telling people about all the bad things we have heard about other people. See the bible also says love covers a lot of sins. Now I am not telling you to keep your mouth shut if you know someone is in danger or has been abused. In that case, go to someone who is in authority (your parents, a teacher you know or even the police if it is really serious) and tell them. But your best girl friend or best buddy really doesn't need to know.
2. Don't assume that just because you heard some rumor that it is true. I believe it was in the 1950s when some guy on a radio in New York City started a rumor on the radio about alien invasions that caused a big panic. It was just a joke but a lot of people got shook up over it. Also, I remember when I was in high school and the boys started talking about sex. I can tell you that 95% of what they said turned out to be untrue. Be careful not to judge someone just because you heard a rumor about them. That is a very dangerous thing to do and it can hurt people who don't deserve it.
3. If it really doesn't concern you then just forget it and keep on moving. Most of the time, when we hear things about our friends, we really don't need to know about it anyway. If someone walks up to tell you something bad about your friend, you can choose not to listen at all. After all, will it make you a better person to hear the rumor? Will it help you be helpful to your friend? Maybe but most of the time it won't.
4. Lastly, if you must know something about the rumor or the story you were told, go to the source. As many of you know, I have been divorced for about a year now. Well, before I got divorced someone started a rumor that I was having an affair on my wife and it was completely untrue. I never did anything like that. This particular rumor got back to someone I am very close to and instead of spreading the rumor or calling someone else to verify what she heard (read that still just spreading the rumor), she called me. It was a very loving act and I appreciate it to this day. She will always have a special place in my heart.
So let me conclude with this. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will kill you. Be careful what you say and hear about other people. It is best just to let rumors drop and die when you hear them but if you must discuss it with someone, call the source and get it straight.
That's Another Opinion of the Minion
In many areas of life, we're manipulated by what we hear. On TV, it's to get a particular message across. However, that message has an ulterior motive, whether it be simply conversion to that view or more harmfully spread lies and untruths. The Devil will always find a way to speak to a person's pride.
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