The Facts Vs. The Truth In Gossip
"...he who spreads slander is a fool." - Proverbs 10:18
A pastor went to visit a woman from his church before she was to have serious surgery. As he walked into her hospital room, he found her in the arms of a man who was not her husband. Stunned and embarrassed, he silently walked out. Later he discovered that this woman's brother had flown in from California to comfort her before her surgery.
Later, the pastor said, "I could have told others I saw that woman in the arms of a man who was not her husband and it would have been a fact, but it would not have been the truth."
The press often does this in reporting what people have done. They confuse the facts with the truth. This results in half-truths that are really the worst forms of lies, because they are so believable. Gossip and slander are big on facts and short on truth. They unfairly destroy people's character.
The next time you hear something bad about another person, be sure you have more than the facts. Be sure you have the whole truth, for it is easy to confuse the facts with the truth.
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5 Comments
Sometimes we hear bad and false reports about Jesus but the truth can be found in the Bible. Thanks be to God for the truth. - Janice
The tongue is the most deadly part of our body and we use it sometimes on purpose to harm others. I have seen where someone lets their tongue demolish the reputation of an innocent person because of jelousy or greed and that person never be able to redeem themselves in the eyes of others. People will also lie and tell something just to impress or please someone else. We need to make sure that what we tell is the truth or just don't say anything. - Jerry
How very true. Thanks for the heartfelt reminder. - Margie
I see this as a very important devotion. It happens too often that people make a factual observation but draw the wrong conclusion. It must be very difficult for a judge in the legal system to determine whether a presented fact is the truth. So called facts need to be interpreted as well in terms of what they really represent. A difficult subject. - Frits
Well said. I like the distinction! - davo