No one saw Debbie and her husband Greg standing outside in the hallway. The door was not fully shut so the troubled couple heard the couples inside chatting. The support group for couples was supposed to help them in their fragile relationship. The meeting was late starting because they were waiting Debbie and Greg. They were the last couple.

But the late arriving couple was early enough to hear Suzy, a petite well-dressed woman’s comments. “If I was Debbie’s husband I would hire a private detective to find out where she's really eating all those calories she claims she never eats at home.” The group laughed as the stunned couple in the hallway froze- unable to push the door open and enter.

Jack, a tall man with a small pouch for a stomach and loose fitting clothes, fueled the gossip fire. “Well, her husband works out with me at the gym. He is there all the time. I think it's because he hates being at home."

Once again the group laughed. It seemed as if the group did not care how loud their laughter and voices might be heard by the couple that had not yet arrived. Somehow talking about this couple made all of them feel numb about their own problems.

Then Beverly and John, the leaders of the support group, said,"Imagine how anyone of you would feel if you were standing outside that door listening to members of this group gossip about you." Her husband then added, "We are here to help each other, none of us need to add to the abuse many of us already experience. Just gossiping about them will not heal our own wounds."

But their comments came too late. The spoken remorse of the group came too late. Because the once late couple left too early to hear anything except the gossiping remarks.

Too stunned and hurt to go in the couple, outside the door, turned quietly to walk down the hall to the exit door. Never to return to the group that was supposed to SUPPORT and not STEP on their relationship.

Gossip, a deadly form of verbal abuse, had reared it's ugly head, once again. .

How do you react when you hear gossip about someone else? How do you recognize when you are the tormenter with this deadly torch?

Many of us go along with the crowd and laugh. Yet, if confronted, we would claim that we never gossip. If we join in with laughter or silence we are perceived to be in agreement with the gossip. Betty and her husband John took a stand. Just imagine if each one of us took a stand against gossip. It will take courage. But It is not until we take a stand and decide to be the voice of kind and encouraging words do we begin to put out the HOT FIRE OF GOSSIP.

Next article-Slander