The Church Gossip

Agnes was the church gossip and although many disapproved of this, they feared her enough to keep silent.

But, she made a mistake when she accused Jim of being a drunk after she saw his truck parked in front of the town's bar, saying, "Anyone who saw it there, knows what he was doing."

Upon overhearing this, Jim stared at her for a moment and then walked away. He didn't explain, defend himself, or deny it. He said nothing.

But that evening, Jim parked his pickup in front of Agnes' house, and left it there, and the neighbors saw it parked there all night.

Test of Three

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear, or are out to repeat a rumor...

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's correct," Socrates continued.

"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why Socrates never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

How NOT To Gossip

If you didn’t hear it with your own ears or see it with your own eyes, don’t invent it with your small mind and share it with your big mouth!