The Facts Vs. The Truth In Gossip Apr 12 2010

"...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.

After that, 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 whole truth."

The press often does this in reporting what people have done. They confuse the facts with the whole 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. And remember, there is only one perfect truth and that truth is embodied in the life of Jesus Christ.

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