Gossip

James 4:11
cf James 5:9

Don't slander others. The context here refers specifically to gossiping about other Christians, but I think the idea about not gossiping period is born out in other passages. Let's be completely honest--it's tough not to join in when others are talking about someone. You may fear being left out. You may want the approval and acceptance that comes from sharing "your" stories about the subject of the gossip. It's easy to justify spreading rumors with things like "it's not gossip if it's true" and "it's not gossip, they really need to know what this person is like." Most of us have used those or similar justifications. To be fair, this specific passage may be focused on spreading falsehoods about others, but think about this. When you tell stories about someone behind their back, you are typically only giving one side of what happened, a side heavily influenced by your perceptions. Presenting your side of things as the only side is just as false as telling a bald-faced lie, but that is what you do when you gossip about someone.

In another passage, Paul talks about gossip as stirring up trouble. In another place, he condemns "godless chatter," which certainly relates to gossip and slander. In yet a third place, he specifically states that slaves shouldn't slander their master, which might relate to not gossiping about your supervisor. The point is clear--gossip is a bad deal.

Think about what happens when you gossip or slander. Yes, it's true that you may experience the solidarity that comes from a common experience. In the moment, gossip does bring gossipers together. But then it also creates one of two mentalities. First, gossip creates an "us versus them" mentality when you are gossiping about someone that you don't like. Or, gossip can create an "at least we're better than that" attitude when you are gossiping about someone else's unfortunate circumstances. So you either reinforce an attitude of malice or superiority toward someone else, someone who is created in God's image and who is loved by God. And you are doing it based only on partial information, when you don't know the whole story. No wonder Paul and James are so tough on gossipers.

It's tough to not gossip. We want to join in, we want to share what we know. And we want to know what others know. When everyone is sharing stories, it's hard to stay silent, walk away, or even speak up about not talking about that person. But at work or anywhere else, it's the right thing to do.