The glamour of gossip

Tellingly, when the phone hacking scandal appeared limited to footballers' wives and film stars, the public barely raised an eyebrow, but once Milly Dowler and the families of soldiers lost in Iraq emerged as victims of eavesdropping reporters, outrage at illegal invasions of privacy abounded.

But is the nation so wrapped up in righteous indignation that we're failing to acknowledge our own part in the crime? Murdoch's smart decision to pull the plug on the NOTW ensures his empire longevity; his bid for BSkyB may have been thwarted, but the public's hunger for salacious information about their favourite celebrities will surely see him rise to notoriety again.

Increasingly relevant, then, is Proverbs' insistent warning against the seemingly innocent indulgence of gossip: those little tit-bits that slide so deliciously into the gullet, provoke us to self-righteousness, snap judgements and unloving speculation.

Despite understanding this wisdom, it remains almost impossible to stop a would-be informant from speaking, refrain from passing the message on, or walk away from overhearing colleagues discussing the latest departmental scandal. In a world where gossip generates entire business empires, Christians have an enormous opportunity to be different by opting out of the attitude that sustains them. The minute we flick through a tabloid on a news stand, scan sensational headlines in the doctor's waiting room or even idly leaf through

As the dust settles, our challenge is not only to resist the temptation to buy into the gossip culture in our choice of reading material and sources of news, but also in choosing what to discuss with friends, colleagues and family, refusing to play any part in the rumour mill, even that of the listening ear.