Delicious Poison

Our second handshake vow, "I won't gossip about you," seeks to heed James's command not to "speak evil against one another." This means any speech that unduly damages the reputation of another believer, whether it is sharing false information (often called slander) or true information (often called gossip). James knows such speech can poison communities, but here he focuses on how it poisons gossipers themselves: It functionally sets us above the law and in the place of God himself. The implied answer to James' question at the end of v. 12, however, is surprising. A Christian is both humbled under God's rule and law, and also secure as a beloved child within God's family. This Gospel truth empowers us to resist the delicious poison of gossip from a place of trust in God's care, God's mercy and God's justice.