Division and much damage among Believers is caused by gossip.
Your job is to refuse to listen to it. It isn't easy when someone wants to tell you something, and they are in the process of talking to you.
It isn't often productive to explain your refusal to listen, because it creates defensiveness. But it is possible to interrupt by holding up your hand or by changing the subject.
If you listen, you participate by letting the words plant themselves in the ground of your mind. And when you see or think about the person who is the target of those words, you invariably see them through the glasses of what you have heard.
This may cost you a friendship and some will think you are insensitive. It is obedience to the Word of God.
I have had situations that called for me to get up and leave because the other person would not stop.
Gossip does not mean it has to be a rumor. Gossip is sharing information that is intended to reveal something unknown to the listener that may reflect poorly on the subject individual.
I actually had someone make an appointment with me to talk to me about why they and others did not like someone in the church.
Those who treasure time with the Lord avoid traps, and gossip is a big one.
We must be vigilant and always prayerful about this.
Soldier, take it to Him today.
Aloud.