Other People's Poop

The other day, I was walking with my dog, Jackson, when he stopped to sniff at a rather large pile of dog poop in the grass next to the sidewalk. Without giving it much thought, I said, "Jackson, we don't need to sniff other people's poop!"

Jackson, a Shih tzu/Poodle mix, is pretty spry for 15 years old.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. To start with, my words made no difference at all to Jackson, who was just doing what comes naturally for all dogs. Secondly, I wasn't joining Jackson in his sniffing, so the word "we" was completely inaccurate. And, of course, the poop he was sniffing was dog poop, not people poop.

Yet that whole incident, trivial though it was, got me to thinking...

Dogs sniff things, including random piles of poop, in order to learn something useful about another animal or a food source. Their noses are much more sensitive than humans' noses, so their sense of smell is a primary way for dogs to gain information. For Jackson, his sense of smell is the main way he learns things now, because his vision and hearing are both diminishing as he ages. 

Most people don't go around sniffing things so they can gain information, even though that phrase, "sniffing around," is often used to describe the actions of some people who are nosier than we might like. But, when it comes right down to it, most people are always interested in finding out random things about other people, whether they know them or not. That's why People magazine exists, and why so many online articles address the actions of various famous and infamous people, as well as ordinary people who find themselves in out-of-the-ordinary situations.

Whether we like it or not, that old slogan, adopted almost 50 years ago by the US tabloid, the National Enquirer, is true: "Inquiring Minds Want to Know."

Unfortunately, our innate curiosity can get us into trouble when our quest for knowledge about other people causes us to gossip or spread unfounded rumors. We don't always know as much as we think we do, and sometimes we don't really care about the truth. That's when our thoughtless conversations can cause much pain, and even loss of reputation, for the people we talk about.

There's a good reason why God included this as one of his ten commandments, as recorded in Deuteronomy 5:20: You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. This commandment (either the eighth or the ninth, depending on a particular church body's numbering system) forbids speaking falsely in any way, lying, or scheming to deceive anyone, as well as speaking unjustly or harming the reputation of another person.

Several years ago, I met a person at church who was obviously distressed. He often asked for prayers about his situation and resulting depression, assuming that we all knew the exact cause. What he didn't know was this: my church has proven to be a rare one that doesn't often indulge in gossip. Because of that, I didn't really know anything about the circumstances that lead to his heartache. That doesn't mean that I didn't want to know, but I realized I didn't need to know the specifics about his situation in order to pray for him. God already knew, and that's all that mattered.

And even now, since someone in his family has voluntarily shared some details with me, I know it is not necessary for me to pass along that information to anyone else. It may not be easy, but I've learned that some stories are not mine to tell.

In this information age, when it seems like everyone wants to be the first to break a significant news story or share the latest gossip, it has become even more important for us to use some restraint, and to think about how our words might affect other people. When Jesus told us to "Love your neighbor as yourself," he meant it. (See Mark 12:31.) I guess that's just one more reason for us to avoid "sniffing other people's poop."