When Is It Gossip?
Are all conversations about other people gossip?
Are all of those conversations bad?
Tonight, I started to consider whether or not you could discuss someone without it being "gossip." Is it even possible? I have reconsidered a number of situations that I've been in, and it seems to me that gossip isn't a natural outflow of a conversation about somone.
How do I determine this? I ask a few questions:
1) Are you mocking the person?
2) Are you building yourself up at their expense?
3) Are you trying to figure out how to deal with someone?
4) Are you working to discern how to help a person?
I had fallen into this nasty trap of thinking that it was wrong to "talk" about someone behind their back. And I would agree if your conversation falls within the first two points above. But life is filled with conversations and connections with people, and what better way to deal with other people than to address the subject with friends. The key is for everyone to realize that the point of the conversation is mutual edification.
And if that's the case, talk away.