Daniel in the Gossip Den

The other leaders were jealous. The foreigner, the boss’s handpicked favorite, continued to outclass, outperform them all. His enemies murmured and looked for ways to spread gossip about him to the higher ups. In the absence of anything juicy, they created a rule he would have to break so they could report him. So goes the story in Daniel, chapter 6.

In light of his loyalty to God, Daniel’s enemies persuaded the king to decree against prayer to any god or mortal except the king. Sure enough, Daniel prayed to God, and his enemies rushed to the king. The king was obligated to sentence Daniel to the lions’ den, but God saved him from death. The tattletales were tossed into the same pit and destroyed immediately.

A tattletale, a gossip, looks for juicy news to spread. We have all gossiped and been the object of gossip. As parents, we tell our children not to speak unkindly of others, to be honest, and to watch their language. We all know how it feels to find out someone has spread lies about us. We have also learned with horror that someone has lost a job or gone to jail or been ruined by gossip. Yet we rush to the phone with a new bit of news. Ouch. Why do we do it?

Daniel’s enemies were angry and jealous of his favor with the king. They “got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up anything” (Dan. 6:4, The Message). They couldn’t abide his success; they wished to ruin him and regain the king’s attention and honor for themselves. The compulsion to gossip comes from a place in us that wants to be superior, accepted, most important. To put others down is to feel power and somehow justified or self-righteous.

It never works out well, this gossiping. Take Daniel’s enemies. As with them, the consequences stand to hurt our relationships, our work, our own reputations. We never make new friends with gossip, but we can lose old friends that way.

As we walk with Jesus, his love and grace help us feel accepted and peaceful. Our need decreases for control, power, and outside approval. We begin to want the best for others, and we see others through Christ’s eyes.

So let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault (Rom. 14:19, The Message).