Have You Heard The One About…
I had this thought last Saturday morning while lying in the ICU unit, “Oh my gosh, what in the world are people outside the hospital saying about my condition.” Anderson, SC is a southern town, people talk—they even talk about things they do not know about—and when they do not know all of the information—they fill in the holes with their own ideas.
So far this is what I have heard has happened to me…(and please understand…I am writing this with a smile on my face!!!)
#1 - I had a heart attack! This is not true—I promise, I had a heart cath done and was told everything looks great. Sorry to disappoint those who thought they had the scoop!
#2 - I was in a major car wreck. This is not true either—if it is then the dude who repaired my car did an amazing job and was able to complete the repair in record time. Also the ambulance that came and got me came to my house—so I guess this major accident would have had to have taken place either in my driveway or my garage. I admit that my garage has a lot of stuff in it…and that I do think major damage could be done in there…but the car wreck thing just isn’t true.
#3 - I had bypass surgery when I was younger and suffered complications from that. I will admit that before I came to Christ that I had a problem with alcohol; however, I would have had to have been seriously intoxicated to have had bypass surgery without knowing about it. I promise I have never had heart surgery.
#4 - I had a stroke. Nope, this one isn’t true either. My father had a stroke about a year or so ago—and his last name is Noble as well—maybe somebody just had some really delayed information on the wrong Mr. Noble.
#5 - I had a blood clot. Uh…wrong again! No blood clots at all.
#6 - I had an abdominal aortic aneurysm - my wife had to assit me on the spelling of this one. (She’s a doctor!) And survey says—WRONG! This one, once again, is not true.
Gossip—I think it has been well illustrated here.
A few of the things I have personally taken away from this…
#1 - When you are telling someone about something—make sure you have your facts straight. All too often I have been guilty of telling people what I have heard and they ask for clarification on an issue…and instead of saying that I do not know I respond with what seems to make logical sense. This may seem harmless—but saying something that isn’t true is—well—it’s a lie.
#2 - Make sure that your source is reliable. If you hear something from your neighbor who had just received a phone call from his friend, whose cousin had ran into someone at Wal-Mart, who was at a meeting when they happened to overhear a cell phone call—maybe the facts have been diluted just a tad by the time they make it to you.
#3 - Resist the urge to seem to be the person “in the know.” All too often I find myself wanting to be the source of information—don’t you. And with this temptation comes, once again, the desire to “fill in the holes” with your side of the story.
Proverbs 18:8, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.”
A friend of mine once described gossip as “verbal pornography.” Basically it gives you stimulation without any accountability. That is what a gossip does—spreads false information and then when they are asked, “Why did you say this,” they reply, “Well so-and-so told me,” and the buck continues to be passed on.
As I have said—God has taught me a lot through this process…and one of the things has been to keep a tighter grip on my tongue…and if I talk about something—that I should know what I am talking about—that way I will be considered reliable.
Thanks for your continued prayers and support. I do have a follow up visit with one of the doctors in the morning…I will let you know how things are continuing to develop.