In many lists of relationship busting behaviors the Greek word translated whisperers appears. Whispering often hangs out with quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, swelled heads and general bedlam, according to the Message.(See 2 Corinthians 12:10.) Whispering speaks quietly of another person, always absent, savoring their sins, weaknesses and such like.
Whisperers often trick themselves into believing that the softness of their speech transforms the nature of their speech from evil to good. After all the righteous need to mark and judge the wayward of the world–don’t they? Whisperers do not do well under cross examination and therefore usually stay away from open courtrooms where truth is hammered out in the crucible of examination and cross examination.
Whisperers do not do much “speaking the truth in love” because that form of speech is risky and invites dialogue and relationship building. Whisperers are more interested in the rush of a mini-scandal than the redemption of the fallen. Whisperers imply the worst, ending the email, twitter, phone call or coffee conversation with implied judgments dangling like a hangman’s noose.
As you might have guessed whisperings is also known as Gossip. In the movie Doubt a very religious person who is absolutely convinced of her own righteousness is gossiping with a friend about a man. That night she had a dream, a hand appeared over her and pointed down to her. She was seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. She decided to go to confession. She asked the priest, “ Is gossip a sin? Do I need absolution? Was that God’s hand pointing down to me?” To all 3 questions the priest answered “Yes. Yes. Yes.” She answers, ” I am sorry. Please forgive me.” To which he said “Not so fast. Go home and get a feathered pillow and go up on the fire escape to your roof and gut the pillow with a knife in the night breeze and come back to see me tomorrow. “
The woman did as she was told. She came back to the priest and he asked “Did you gut the pillow?” “ Yes I did.” “ And what was the result? “ “ Feathers. Feathers everywhere Father.” “Now I want you to go back to the roof and the neighborhood and gather up every last feather that blew into the wind.” She declared, “ It cannot be done. The wind blew them away. I do not know where they went. The wind took them all over.” “And that “ said Father O’rourke, “ is gossip!”