They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Here’s a great list of what not to, of who not to be. Paul is describing every kind of wickedness, and comes up with this eternal list of bad traits. I’d like to think that I’m not described in Paul’s run down.
I find it interesting this morning that while the list is full of things I hope never to be in my list of accomplishments – murder, inventors of evil, heartless, ruthless – the vast majority of things on this list are things I can imagine doing, or have actually done. There are these ugly, human traits – accessible and known by me – on a list alongside murder.
Covetousness and envy. I’d love to say I’ve never been these things, or that if I have, it’s all in the past. But it’s so tricky to steer clear of the need to compare oneself to the Jones’. These comparisons immediately feel wrong and definitely not helpful, but that doesn’t stop me from going there.
Haughty, boastful. For me, these are more imminent evils. When I succeed at something, or when I’m in my element doing something I’ve done well in the past, it’s hard not to feel successful, to be boastful. It’s not that I run around crowing like a peacock, but that sense of pride that creeps in, that sense of better-than, is no less problematic.
Slanderers and gossipers. These may be the most dangerous and insidious.. I’m in a position where I need to share information that I gather with people who need to know. Yesterday, I shared that one co-worker has entered hospice, and another is being bad-mouthed on social media for some less-than-ideal behavior. It’s a hard thin line, to share needed information versus gossiping.
And outside my work life, gossip is a hard thing to walk by. But to gossip is to share someone else’s misfortune or circumstances for no other reason than to share. There’s a sense of better-ness, when you share information about someone else. Isn’t it awful that he . . . Secretly what we’re saying is, Aren’t you glad we aren’t like him? Which takes us back to covetousness, envy, and boastful.
Gossip is almost a social norm, almost expected. Certainly excused. And yet, it seems like it’s the acceptable front man for a host of uglier wickedness, if we think about why we gossip. Today, before I share any information, at work or at home, I want to brutally assess my motives. If I can catch that urge to gossip, even little gossips, I hope I can name the boastful, envy, covetousness, or slanderous undercurrents, and nip them all in the bud.
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