There is an old Jewish tale which goes like this:
One day, a villager took the local gossip to the Rabbi and said, “This man
has spread false rumors about me and caused me many problems.”
The other quickly replied, “I must apologize for my gossiping. So let me go
on record as saying that I take back my words. Are you satisfied now?”
“Well,” the other man replied, “I appreciate the apology, but nevertheless,
you can’t really take back words.”
“Nonsense!” the gossiper replied. “I’ve taken back my words, so the problem
has been remedied. What else is there to this situation?”
After listening to the discussion, the Rabbi remarked to the gossiper,
“Listen, if you want to truly remedy the harm you have caused, then come to the
town square tomorrow with a feather pillow.”
The gossiper didn’t know what to make of this, but agreed to comply. The next
day, he came to the town square with the pillow and handed it to the Rabbi. The
Rabbi then instructed him to tear open the pillow, and swing the pillow around
until all the feathers flew out.
The gossiper once again did not know what to make of this request, but did as
the Rabbi said.
The Rabbi then said, “OK now, bring back all of the feathers.”
“What!” the gossiper replied. “I surely cannot do that!”
“Well why not?” the Rabbi asked.
“Because,” the man explained, “the feathers have spread all over the
place—some have gone in the bushes, and by now some have already flew many yards
away. They’ve all scattered about. Even if I spent a month gathering them,
there’d still be plenty that I wouldn’t get back.”
The Rabbi heard this and replied, “And just like it is impossible to recover
those feathers, it is impossible to take back the words that you spread. In no
time at all, they will spread to all sorts of corners far and wide, and
recovering them would be an insurmountable task...”
The Bible is very clear regarding gossip:
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:16
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Psalm 34:12-14
Let us try to keep our tongue from evil! After all, what good is there in spreading bad words about others?
Stay blessed, and stay tuned,
Stay blessed, and stay tuned,
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