Discordant instruments

She was young, modestly dressed, attractive, innocent looking, and projected an aura of purity. Then she spoke. It wasn’t her tone, nor her pitch, or even her volume. It was the vitriol and four-letter words that flowed so smoothly out of her mouth. It was clear these terms weren’t foreign visitors to her lips—they were well-entrenched residents. The discordant music that erupted didn’t fit with the beauty of the instrument.

That’s what Christian employees sound like in the workplace when they join the world’s chorus with sins of the tongue. We’re meant to be instruments with a different melody, one with attractive winsomeness, a difference that causes men and women to ask us, “Why?” Then we may respond by telling them about the impact of the gospel on our lives.

You may respond, “But I’m no violator.” That may be true, but are you willing to take the challenge, “Search me, O God, and know my heart!”

Sins of the tongue are sung with many tunes, and because many of them have become so familiar, they often go unrecognized as off-color. The most common is gossip. It’s also the most deceptive because it has an uncanny way of luring even the most faithful into its charms. It appeals to our pride. We want to be in the know, and we want others to know we know.

We shrug off gossip, make light of its impact, and implicitly infer it’s a harmless vice, a socially acceptable sin. Some pastors testify that it’s the most corrosive evil in their congregations. Yet, when was the last time a church member was disciplined for gossip? Or more poignantly, when was the last time you said something like, “I wish you would stop talking about John in that way, please”?

But some might ask, “If it’s true it cannot be gossip, can it?” The Bible makes no such distinction—whether the morsel shared is true or untrue isn’t the question. The issue is whether it needs to be repeated.

Biblically, the word used to describe gossip has several connotations. It is conversation conducted in a whisper—spoken privately, never with the subject in attendance. The information shared is hurtful or damaging. Good news is not gossip. Gossipers take pleasure sharing, and have an excessive interest in knowing, partaking, and savoring negative tidbits. Often the offender is so advanced in deceiving himself and others that the adverse pleasure is masked as great concern: “We need to pray for Ronald, you won’t believe what has happened.”

Alistair Begg gave these five questions (from Ephesians 4:15–32) to ask when tempted to speak about another person.

These are good guidelines for Christian speech in the workplace and elsewhere. There may be much less said, but the melodies from the instruments will be more in tune with the Master.