Never Repeat What Someone Said Someone Said

I first heard this piece of advice about five years ago from a gifted Christian leader. He was speaking at a Bible conference and in the course of his message advised us to “never repeat what someone said someone said.” It only gets you in trouble.

Never repeat what someone said someone said. Why is this such good advice?

–Because you may not have the full story.
–You probably don’t have the context of whatever was said.
–You weren’t there to observe the body language of what was said.
–If you are angry, you will be tempted to put the worst possible construction on what was said.
–The person relaying the information may have an axe to grind.
–You may be guilty of passing along a bad report to those who don’t need to hear it.
–You may gain a reputation as a talebearer or a gossip.
–If the information is not correct, you may face serious consequences.

And mostly we shouldn’t do this sort of thing, especially when we are angry or hurt, because it corrodes our own soul.

Guard your heart.
Set your mind on things above.
Think on those things that are pure and lovely and of good report.

The heart is a fragile thing. Once filled with anger, it is hard to fill it again with love. We can abide in Christ or we can abide in gossip, but we can’t do both at the time.

I suppose we have all occasionally repeated what someone said someone said. But let this be the last word. If you are angry or hurt or in the middle of a conflict, don’t do it. Let those who actually heard what was said repeat it–and let them be held responsible for whatever they say.

When you are angry, hold your tongue and guard your heart. And don’t repeat what someone said someone said.