Fifth we see that God hates feet that make haste to run into evil. Realize beloved that gossip is evil -- pure evil. It serves no possible good and only seeks to tear people down when the Bible has instructed us that we are to do the opposite when it comes to each other:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. -- Ephesians 4: 29-32 (NIV)
We see here that gossip actually grieves the Holy Spirit, as anything evil would. It runs contrary to the ways of God. It is only destructive by nature -- there is nothing constructive or edifying about it. I understand it is difficult in many situations because the flesh seeks retribution and the world glorifies revenge. But Matthew 18 implores us to win the person back to us.
Sixth, we find that God hates a false witness who breathes out lies. Interesting the usage of the word breathe is if the gossiper engages in gossip so easily that it is like a necessary bodily function such as respiration. If we are not careful that is how our spirit can become. The usage of the term false witness reminds us that gossip brings with it an element of judgment. The gossiper has already judged the person they are speaking about and in fact are seeking to persuade others to judge them the same way. Many times we do not even know the full story we might be tempted to gossip about. We may be privy to only a small portion of the story but we reach judgment on that small portion and proceed to assassinate the entire character of the person. There is a certain measure of unfairness to gossip because the person is not there to defend themselves. False witnesses are what lead to unfair judgment. The Pharisees sought false witnesses in order to condemn Jesus to die. We may not see the end effects so dramatically but quite often this is the end result of gossip. The majority of the time there is permanent damage done to that person's reputation. There is a reason why God so hates these things.
Lastly, God hates anyone who sows discord amongst the body of Christ. I know it is difficult to realize that this is what we are doing when we engage in gossip but that is the reality. We are creating strife and dissension where none previously existed. We are creating it no less where we live! Where we seek to have community and grow in Christ together. We use super-spirituality and religion where grace and mercy should be but what does the Book of James teach us?
If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. -- James 1: 26 (NLT)
Christianity is not supposed to be about a set of rules and regulations but rather the grace and mercy of God that saved us from them. Jesus warned the teachers of law about this:
"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! -- Matthew 23: 23-24 (NLT)
