At some point, however, Krissy and Todd had shared with them a struggle they were having with another Christian couple, the Smiths, who happened to be mutual friends. More than that, in their frustration over their disagreement, they had told Adam and Amy things that painted the Smiths in a bad light. Adam and Amy had politely listened, but Krissy could sense they felt a little uncomfortable. Since then she had been feeling convicted, and now that she and Todd were alone in the car, she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

“I feel really bad about what we shared about the Smiths,” she said.

“Me too,” he agreed. Later, after praying together about it, they acknowledged to Adam and Amy that they had been gossiping and asked their forgiveness. Then they took steps to improve their relationship with the Smiths.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” When we share personal negative information about others, we plant a seed that will affect how our listeners view and treat that person. Within the body of Christ, these seeds have been responsible for broken relationships as well as divided churches. When we gossip, we tear others down, and somehow that makes us feel important. Where’s the grace in that?