While doing some reading for an earlier blog entry, I decided to see what Luther had written in the Large Catechism on the 8th Commandment. I couldn't help but LOL! In his graphic and humorous way, Luther describes what gossip makes out of us. Here's what he wrote:
People are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a thing, but go on to assume jurisdiction. When they know about a slight offense committed by another person, they carry it into every corner. They are delighted and tickled that they can stir up another's displeasure, just as swine delight to roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout.
Keep that image in mind the next time you're tempted to speak poorly or derisively about another person!
