How We Must Depend on Holy Spirit to Tame Our Tongues

Most of us exercise regular opportunities to repent from spreading a story we heard about a friend, neighbor or colleague. As we toss and turn in bed, trying to understand why our tongue betrayed us, answers evade us, and we pray for strength to do better tomorrow.

Researchers define three categories of gossip:

Positive: flattery oriented.

Neutral: neutral observations about others.

Negative: malicious commentary.

The researchers concluded that 75% of all gossip fits the category of nonevaluative or neutral.

““No matter how we describe it, gossip has the power to hurt us all. Careers have been broken, relationships destroyed and churches split through the power of misplaced words.

The only effective gossip inoculation comes from the Holy Spirit. {eoa}

Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the multimedia group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His Charisma House book, Love Leads, shows that without love, you cannot be an effective leader. Sign up for his free “5 Things I Learned Last Week” and “Greenelines” newsletters, and download his Greenelines and At Work With God podcasts at .

This article was excerpted from the December issue of Charisma magazine. If you don’t subscribe to Charisma, click here to get every issue delivered to your mailbox. During this time of change, your subscription is a vote of confidence for the kind of Spirit-filled content we offer. In the same way you would support a ministry with a donation, subscribing is your way to support Charisma. Also, we encourage you to give gift subscriptions at

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