It has no racial affiliation. It is not gender specific. It will go wherever it is welcomed. It is an opportunist which seeps into everyone whose hearts are open to it. It kills dreams, destroys relationships, breaks up organizations, and divides businesses. It impedes progress. It provides lack to opportunity. It hangs out at water coolers, break rooms, phone lines, coffee shops, street corners, allys, pubs and clubs, and in the church. It is not prejudice where it resides. Like mold, it just needs the right conditions to grow and prosper. Yet, its character is not to prosper to those who use it. It is to destroy, break, divide, starve, and then break again.
It goes by different names - slandering, buzz, rumoring, whispering - but I capsulize it as gossiping. Webster's Dictionary defines gossip as casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. Rowland's Dictionary defines gossip as information from someone who has no life passing disinformation or half-truths to another who does not have a life about someone who does have a life. I believe Webster's has a more concise and professional definition. No matter what you call it, what you name it, or how well you dress it, it is still nasty, dark, and ugly. Rid this enemy and unity, trust, and peace will prevail. Joy will abound in your organization among its many members. Most importantly, life - must I say the abundant life - will invade your relationships, organizations, business, and circles.
