Jul 17, 2006

the church gossip

Anonymous email

Mildred, the church gossip, self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.

Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Henry, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Henry and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

Henry, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, Henry quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house . . . walked home . . and left it there all night.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very good brother, you can't judge a book by the cover. Ha Ha He He LOL :) I love it.

Anonymous said...

As I have thought this over a little this sounds more like Larry than Henry Great lesson who ever taught it. LOL :)

Larry said...

Laymond...
Sure wish I could take credit for parking my car at Mildred's house, but someone far more creative thought this one up. :)

Anonymous said...

Love it!

Recently some one approached two of us at church with gossip we looked at each other shrugged our shoulders and remained silent. She looked a bit unhappy that we didn’t play and said goodbye. The elders addressed it very openly in church. They were direct and to the point. I was so happy and proud of those men.

Larry said...

Milly...
Having wise elders can control a situation before it explodes. I'm proud of your elders too!

Some Christians don't seem to realize that one can be guilty of gossip even if what they pass on is honestly believed to be factual. Truth is often converted to a lie over time; it just takes one person in the gossip chain to embellish, or diminish the original thought.

Anonymous said...

I was rather happy that the two of us chose to do the same thing, nothing. I saw later that she was one of the people who received the letter that was talked about. I hadn't read it at the time, it was the first I had heard of it. We both chose to let it go instead of gabbing. It is so easy to talk and not realize we are the offenders.

We are not always good at standing up for what we believe in or saying, “This is it now stop it.” The men did a great job this time and have renewed me in how I feel about them. Many talked about what a great job they did on this one.

Anonymous said...

Funny story, Larry! I agree with Laymond that it sound a little too much like a true-ism.

Your right, Milly. It is so easy to start a-squawkin' about things before we realize that we are gossiping. I think most gossip begins simply because some one shut their brain off and turned their emotions on. That's easy to do.

(By the way. Milly? Is your full name "Mildred"?)
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA...oh, I crack myself up!)

Hey Larry, I noticed I have to use my blogger account for commenting. Is that a permanent thing?

Larry said...

Jeff...
Changed my Blogger acct. so comments will be easier for the non-Bloggerites.

Milly...
Sure hope your true name is Milly and not Mildred. You know I wouldn't accuse you of such doings like Danny would. :)

Anonymous said...

:-}

Anonymous said...

HA!!! I KNEW it!

Howdy, Mildred!

Anonymous said...

A. . . . no it isn't :-} It's Cat Woman. Please do let the cat out of the bag.

Larry said...

Milly...
Milly is short for Minerva; Roman Goddess of Wisdom.

Surely not Parmelia or Millicent?

Anonymous said...

Larry
You sweet talker :-]

I won't give up my true identity.

Anonymous said...

Larry, I just discovered your blog. Humor. Thought provoking. I like the subjects written about.
I will be visiting again.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Funny that when someone who places their righteouness over someone elses... it so often comes back and reflects on their own character instead of the accusers.

Great story!

I may have to borrow it from you someday...

Blessings,
iggy

Larry said...

stoned-campbell disciple...
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.

If I'm not mistaken, you posted occasionally on Al Maxey's Berean Spirit forum. I miss his insight on the forum, but enjoy his new project, Reflections.

Larry said...

Iggy...
Someone emailed this little gem to me; it's certainly worth the read.

Sorry about some of the problems you have encountered lately on your site. About a year ago I had the same problems, but on a forum...I even removed my blog for awhile (as you probably remember)to get things back to an even keel.

Best of luck on all your recent endeavors.

Anonymous said...

I do post occassionally on BS. I lurk most of the time because I do not have the time to deal with the volume of traffic.

Stop by Stoned-Campbell Disciple Blog if you get a chance.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine