Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for his revolutionary invention in 1876 – the telephone. Within a short time, a carpenter came up with a complimentary piece of furniture that was a must-have in every household: the gossip bench.
Today, young people know nothing except a phone that easily slips into their pockets and goes everywhere with them. In fact, many today seldom use their cellphone as a phone and, instead, make use of other communication apps. Back in the day, though, communication wasn’t so easy.
The telephone was a cumbersome thing. Originally, it was housed in a wooden case with a crank on the side and a mouthpiece protruding out the front. Quickly, a tabletop version was developed, thus needing a place to put it. Tethered by a line coming from the wall, this phone wasn’t going anywhere. This is where the gossip bench comes in.
The gossip bench is a piece of furniture featuring a seat and a small table built in for the phone. Under the table, a cubby was provided to keep the phone book, pens, pencils, and notebooks. With the phone sitting in its place and a place for the caller to sit, conversations could go on for hours between parties sharing the latest information. After all, they didn’t have Facebook to spread the news so individual calls had to be made to keep everyone informed of the latest developments.
During the 1930s-1950s, the gossip bench became a hot selling item. Did you hear about…? If only the gossip bench could talk, it would have plenty of its own juicy gossip to share!
“We tend to think of gossip as a negative behavior … But it’s really not,” says Frank T. McAndrew, Ph.D., the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois: “Everyone gossips.”
“By definition (at least the definition social scientists who study gossip use), gossip is any talk about someone who isn’t present, it’s usually about something we can make a moral judgment about (meaning you tend to approve of the information or disapprove), and it’s entertaining (meaning it doesn’t feel like work to do it; you tend to want to share or hear the information), McAndrew explains.
“It’s not inherently bad; and plays an important role in keeping our society connected.”1
Meagan Robbins, assistant professor of psychology at UC, Riverside, says, “It’s just social information and we learn a lot about the social world around us when we gossip.”2
Does the Bible agree with Dr. McAndrew and Dr. Robbins? Not at all!
Though the word gossip doesn’t appear in the Bible, gossips are called by other names: whisperers, backbiters, slanderers, and talebearers. Leviticus 19:16 makes it very clear where God stands on the subject. “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.” The words thou shalt not leave no wiggle room for interpretation. Talebearing is forbidden.
Dr. McAndrew said that gossip is entertaining. Maybe that’s true for the ones doing the gossiping but it’s not true for the ones being gossiped about. Proverbs 26:22 says, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Wounds are not fun or entertaining.
Let’s be very careful what we say about others. Let’s hold their name and reputation like a precious gem entrusted to our care. May the prayer of our heart reflect the words of Psalms 141:3. “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”
1https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/psychologists-say-gossiping-social-skill-here-s-how-know-if-ncna1056941
2Ibid.
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