The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Malicious reports cut like wounds that sink into the deepest inner life, leaving lasting hurt far beneath the surface. Unkind speech that darkens another person's character is an act of cruelty, not a light or harmless fault. Those who listen to such talebearing with pleasure become partakers in the wrong rather than innocent bystanders. The listener is held accountable together with the one who spreads the report, sharing responsibility for the injury done.
In the face of such talk, members of the church are to reprove it openly instead of allowing it to go on unchecked. To permit talebearing to continue without rebuke is to leave the wounding work unhindered. Where a person persistently refuses to follow the directions the Bible gives concerning this kind of speech, the church may be required to act in discipline.
Malicious reports cut like wounds that sink into the deepest inner life, leaving lasting hurt far beneath the surface. Unkind speech that darkens another person's character is an act of cruelty, not a light or harmless fault. Those who listen to such talebearing with pleasure become partakers in the wrong rather than innocent bystanders. The listener is held accountable together with the one who spreads the report, sharing responsibility for the injury done.
In the face of such talk, members of the church are to reprove it openly instead of allowing it to go on unchecked. To permit talebearing to continue without rebuke is to leave the wounding work unhindered. Where a person persistently refuses to follow the directions the Bible gives concerning this kind of speech, the church may be required to act in discipline.