The twin evils of lying and gossip

Inspiration

By Charles Towne

I was on my way to Hilton Head Island to deliver some of my artwork to a couple of galleries when suddenly the car ahead of me drove over a large diamondback rattlesnake that had chosen the wrong time to cross the road. The next thing I knew, and I realize that it sounds crazy, that snake was somehow picked up by the tires of the car and thrown through the air to come twisting, turning and cartwheeling through the air as if that was its sole purpose in life to collide with a thud on my windshield!

I hit the brakes.

The large reptile fell from my hood and while convulsively writhing twisting and contorting, it struck repeatedly, blindly, sinking its three-quarter inch long fangs over and over again into the only thing near enough to strike, its own body.

Liars are just like that old snake.

With no regard or consideration for anything other than their own twisted need to destroy, they do their evil with no regard for the consequences. What I have discovered in my somewhat eventful life is that often we see transference at work as people, for whatever distorted reason, and to whatever destructive purpose, vent their anger and hostility at the innocent in the form of a lie. The Bible speaks quite eloquently when it says, “And they will believe a lie.” The big question is... who will believe a lie?

And the answer is, THE LIAR!

In other words, the liar tells the lie so often they began to believe their own lie. Consequently, the liar ends up not only deceiving, but being deceived. The Bible tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of it. The gospel also tells us that “God hates a lie.” What is going on in the mind of the pathetic person that is so driven? Do they, in fact, realize some sort of evil satisfaction from their actions?

Really, what is the difference between a liar and a gossip? I don’t have a clue!

It seems to me that gossips and liars are both parts of the same animal. They take turns at sometimes being the head and then sometimes the tail, and to be honest with you no matter how hard I try it is difficult for me to tell them apart. Think of it, those that are so willing to share the latest dirt are usually more than willing to take a little dust, mix it with some putrid sewer water, stir it up real good until it is mud, and then tell you that it is caviar and expect you to eat it!

The strange thing is that some folks gobble it down, roll their eyes, and say that it is delicious, and then they even ask for more!

Yeah, strange, very strange indeed. My sainted mama, bless her soul, gave me the following bit of earthy advice: “Be nice, think good thoughts, and don’t put stinky stuff in your mouth.” When she used the term “stinky stuff” she was referring to gossiping. It was her experience, as it has been mine, that gossips are usually willing to exaggerate the negative and negate the positive. They’ll turn an infraction into a deadly infarction and magnify and multiply a miserly little molehill and turn it into a mountain.

I don’t know why that is but it surely does seem to be a fact.

Yes, it seems that lying and gossiping are both parts of the same river, and baby, that is a stream you can’t swim. When we gossip we are doing nothing less than murder. When we talk about a person with malicious intent, with exaggeration and half-truths, or outright lies we are committing character assassination. Why folks feel it is necessary to cannibalize another brother or sister is beyond me. Can we really be that hungry? Remember what my blessed mama said: “Be nice, think good thoughts, and don’t put stinky stuff in your mouth. Somehow I believe this gossiping and lying thing must displease our Holy God mightily. And I’ll say amen to that!

Charles Towne is first and foremost a Christian. An octogenarian, author, journalist, wildlife photographer, naturalist, caregiver, and survivor, his life has been and continues to be, a never-ending adventure filled with possibilities never imagined. He has adopted the philosophy that to Live fully, laugh uproariously, love passionately, and learn like there is no tomorrow, is a formula for a long and joy-filled life.