A young lady was bubbling with excitement to describe her boyfriend to her grandmother. Just to make the conversation interesting she asked her grandmother “what do you call an intelligent, good looking, sensitive man”? The wise grandmother answered: A rumor. Well, I do not think I can argue or even comment on that in this article, but I do want us to think about rumors for the next few minutes. A rumor is defined as a piece of unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread secretly by word of mouth.
One of the most interesting characteristics of a rumor is that it is interesting. It may be a total lie or may have some truth to it, but what really makes it powerful is that it is very interesting and pleasing to both the speaker and the listener. Nothing keeps the attention of both the parties like gossip or rumor. It is very common for people to sleep during a sermon or a lecture, or even a movie but I have not heard of people sleeping when a rumor is spreading or shared.
One of the most interesting characteristics of a rumor is that it is interesting.
Nehemiah started rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and guess what happened? There were many rumors that he was intending to plot a revolt and planning to become a king. Open your Bible to Nehemiah chapter 6 and read from verses 5-13. Sanballat sends the same message to Nehemiah five times, and each time Nehemiah sends the same reply, yet he still does not believe Nehemiah. Notice the development of this rumor: It begins with some people who hate what Nehemiah is doing, then they come up with a story that can explain the deeds of their enemy, they quote their stories as reports among nations and they also find some people who say that it is true, therefore it now officially becomes an accusation against Nehemiah. Even though we live many centuries after Nehemiah, rumors still develop almost the same way even today. Rumors are nothing more than cooked stories, yet they have the power to convince individuals, groups and nations. In Nehemiah’s words they are just making it up out of their head (Vs 8).
Involving in rumors is like playing with dirt, even though your target is someone else; remember that it is going to leave some dirt on your own hands.
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln’s coffin was pried open twice? I am not kidding. Charles Swindoll notes this interesting fact in his chapter on Rumors. The first occasion was in 1887, twenty two years after his assassination. Wonder why? Not to determine if he had died of a bullet from John W. Booth, but because a rumor was sweeping the country that the coffin was empty. To clarify and stop the false rumors they opened it in 1887. Fourteen years later, the coffin was opened and viewed again, do you know why? For the same grim purpose! Rumors that the coffin is empty spread among the public and the pressure mounted to such proportions that they had to open the coffin again despite strong protests of Lincoln’s son Robert. This time the body was exposed to many more witnesses. Sounds unbelievable? Well, that is the power of rumors.
So why am I talking about rumors in this article? Let me answer before you start a rumor as to why I am doing this. Some recent experiences in my own life made me ponder on the power of rumors. Some lessons I learnt from this experience and study are: We do not have much control on what people say about us behind us, and it is really worthless to try to know what everyone is thinking. Second, involving in rumors is like playing with dirt, even though your target is someone else; remember that it is going to leave some dirt on your own hands.
Finally, be very cautious both in listening and sharing news about others, because it is easy for us to unconsciously become the spreaders of rumors. Next time you are tempted to talk about others make sure you have information based on facts and more importantly the right motive. Remember rumors reveal more about the person talking than about the targeted person. Rumors do not have wings to spread or fly, they use your credibility as their wings, you become their official courier service. Do not spread rumors about anyone, because they may or may not destroy others’ reputation, but they will definitely depreciate your reputation.
Rumors reveal more about the person talking than about the targeted person.
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
