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Edge God In Podcast 337: When Gossip Becomes Counterfeit Connection
EdgeGodIn.com | Host: Lauren E Miller
Championing Human Potential in Christ
Learning Objective: Recognize how gossip can become a counterfeit source of self-esteem and connection, identify its impact on relationships, and choose direct, respectful, and biblically grounded communication that protects dignity and promotes reconciliation.
Scriptures:
- Matthew 18: 15-20
- Romans 13:8-10
Prayer: Dear Lord delivery me from the tendency to share another person’s story many times because of my own insecurities. Help me to rejoice in the success of others over my own and ground my sense of worth and value in you, an unshakable anchor of identity.
Aquinas’s discussion includes sorrow over another’s good, pleasure in another’s misfortune, and attempts to damage someone’s reputation.
- Tale-bearing
Carrying stories between people in ways that create conflict, division, or mistrust. Tale-bearing does not simply damage a reputation; it can damage a relationship. - Detraction
Sharing another person’s faults or failures—even when the information is true—when there is no legitimate need for others to know it. Before speaking, ask:
Is it true—and does this truth need to be shared with this person? - Delight in another person’s misfortune
Feeling secretly pleased when someone fails, loses influence, or experiences difficulty because it makes us feel better about ourselves. - Sorrow over another person’s good fortune
Feeling diminished, resentful, or threatened when someone else succeeds, receives recognition, or experiences something good.
Previous Podcast in this series by Lauren: Do Less, Surrender More
Support Resources: Award Winning Books:
Hearing His Whisper, with Every Storm Jesus Comes Too https://amzn.to/3nNxdya
99 Things You Want to Know Before Stressing Out!
Emotional Intelligence in Christ Project: Book, 6-Week Study Guide & Course Now Launched
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