"The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor," Proverbs 11:9.

You've heard the phrase, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It's not true ---- like a poisonous snake gossip can kill you!

We live in a notoriously violent society! Under the influence of Satan, people hurt, maim and kill fellow humans with impunity.What about you? Do you inflict injury upon your neighbors? Could you be guilty of murder?"How unthinkable!" you may answer. "Never!" Yet millions of seemingly harmless people hurt end even kill their neighbors every day.

Their instrument of violence is not steely switchblade nor a silver "Saturday-night special". It's the tongue! Whether the gossip is premeditated or accidental, murder is murder. And when you're dead, you're dead.Yes, words ---- in the form of gossip ---- can hurt you and other people. But gossip can be stopped! Let's learn how to prevent this deadly crime. First, what is gossip? Many people don't know. Many do know, but pretend they don't. Many know, but don't care ---- they go right on anyway, murdering others with their words..

Listen to what God says about gossiping accusers: "An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire (Bible verse Proverbs 16:27).

What happens to the victim of accusations? These accusers ---- this lynch mob of tongues ---- charge him, convict him and condemn him to death! Accusation is deadly gossip.Gossip slanders neighbor. It destroys a person's character or personal reputation.

But beware! He who lives by the sword of slander shall die by the sword of slander. Almighty God says, "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy" (Bible verse Psalm 101:5).

Gossip talks indiscreetly. People who say just anything that comes into their minds spread gossip. They do not engage their minds before they engage their tongues. They do not evaluate what they are about to say or its effect on others. "A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; the babbler is no different" (Bible verse Ecclesiastes 10:11).In short, gossip is any communication that hurts people.

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly" (Bible verse Proverbs 18:8), King James Version.)

Satan started gossip. Jesus Christ said, "He was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44). Satan probably used gossip to assassinate God in the eyes of one third of the angels, causing them to rebel (Bible verse Revelation 12:4). Jesus also revealed that Satan is a lying slanderer: "For he is a liar and the father of it" (Bible verse John 8:4).

Satan accuses both God and humans today through unsuspecting people. He is called the "accuser of our brethren" ---- of God's begotten children in His Church (Bible verse Revelation 12:10).: "Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries... But these speak evil of whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves" (Bible verses Jude 8-10).Yes, Satan is the source of gossip. Do not allow Satan to whisper in your ear.

People gossip for many ---- all of them wrong ---- reasons. For example, people of low self-esteem tend to gossip. They do not respect themselves, so they gossip about others and pull them down. This allows their own egos to rise on the ruins of others'. The gossiper experiences a temporary illusions of worth, but quickly descends even lower than before. He or she then yearns to gossip again, aching to experience another high. But down he or she goes again.Some people are addicted to gossip just as much as some others are addicted to drugs.

Frustration produces gossipers, too. You can't have everything you want. Perhaps you are dissatisfied with your situation in life. You hunger and thirst for satisfaction. So what do you do? Well, some people eat, eat, eat, desperately desiring to devour their frustrations away. Others talk, talk, talk and devour their neighbors away. After gossiping they feel better ---- for a little while. Then reality hits them again and the addictive cycle of frustration and gossip starts all over again.Idleness breeds gossip. People who are idle with their hands tend to be active with their tongues. Paul comments: "And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not" (Bible verse I Timothy 5:13).

Realize how much God hates gossip. Gossip-related sins appear three times on God's "hit list" of the six most abominable things He hates: "A lying tongue... a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Bible verses Proverbs 6:17-19).