Robert in Peachtree City, Georgia asks, "What is the biblical definition of gossip?" This is good for me to think about. I hate gossip, and I wasn't even sure how to define it. That's very dangerous, isn't it? So Romans 1, "They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slander." So you see the context of it.

Deceit, maliciousness, slander. It's really ugly, and it's right in there with things that hurt people. Same thing in 2 Corinthians 12. "They may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit." So there it is, back to back with slander again. So gossip is something hurtful. It's something that damages community, damages people.

Same thing again in 1 Timothy 5. Besides that, he's talking about some women in the church at that time were going about from house to house, not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies. And there you hear the fact that it seems to be the kind of thing that you just fall into when you don't have anything better to do.

So here are a couple of things that seem to mark what gossiping is. Number one, a negative spirit that is more bent on hurting than helping. Gossip is not something that's really redemptive. "I just want to help. I want to do good, so I'm going to gossip." But it is deceptive.

There are people who can deceive themselves into thinking they're doing good by chattering away about somebody and saying, "Well, no, let's pray for that." And what they really are is getting pleasure out of the sharing of the negative news. And the other thing is it's an excessive interest in affairs that belong to others.

It's just not our business. Paul calls them busybodies. They're intruding themselves where they don't belong. And I would add a third thing from my own experience. There's a kind of pride. I just know this from myself. I think John Piper's pride is what makes him savor that I know something somebody else doesn't know.

I know it, and I can tell you. And I feel in the know, which kind of elevates me a little bit. So I think it's pride at the root of that. So there's a negative spirit that's not helpful or loving or kind. There's an excessive interest in the busybody affairs of others.

And then there's this pride. So here's the way I would define it. And I get part of this right out of the dictionary of the Greek term for this. Derogatory information about someone that you have that is shared with others and a tone of confidentiality that is not motivated by doing good to them and that you are enjoying in a way that shows your heart is not humble.

And the remedy for that kind of gossip is love. Love for the person, love for the church and her unity, love for Jesus, whose fellowship is sweet enough so you don't need to have all the titillation that comes from these unclean pleasures of spreading negative information. So it seems gossip is not limited to false statements, right?

It seems like gossip can be spreading true information as well. It can be true, but it's almost always negative. It's almost always our scuttlebutt. But yeah, it may be true. The fact that you're telling the truth doesn't mean you're not gossiping. Thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for listening to this podcast.

Email your questions to us at AskPastorJohn@DesiringGod.org and visit us online at DesiringGod.org to find thousands of free books, articles, sermons, and other resources from John Piper. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Thanks for listening.