Avoid Gossip

“Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.” – 1 Timothy 5:13

One of the craziest gossip lies that has spread in recent years is: ‘Mr. Rogers’ the beloved, wholesome icon has a hidden past. For many years, rumors flew that Fred Rogers was secretly a former Navy SEAL or Marine sniper — even though there’s documentation to prove that he was declared unfit for service in 1950.

The urban legend is still so pervasive that the Navy SEALS website has a page debunking the myth: The site points out that he was too old to have enlisted in the Navy when the Vietnam War broke out and that there’s plenty of evidence that Mr. Rogers went straight to college and immediately entered television work.

Rogers still received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, though, despite his lack of a military career.

Gossip is a sin.

Confess any sin of gossip in your life to the Lord and seek to refrain from listening and spreading gossip.

“Have you heard of the terrible family They,
And the dreadful venomous things They say’
Why, half the gossip under the sun,
If you trace it back, you will find begun
In that wretched House of They.” – Ellen Wilcox Wheeler

“A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” Proverbs 11:13