The Tragedy of Gossip

Author Unknown

The story is told of the woman who became conscious stricken because of her gossiping ways. She went to the preacher, confessed her sin of spreading malicious rumors about her neighbors; and after the preacher prayed with her for God’s forgiveness, she asked what could she do to repair the damage she’d done.

The preacher handed her a bag of feathers, took her to the roof of the building, and had her empty the feathers into the wind. Looking into her astonished face, the preacher then said, “I want you to go into the city and return to me every one of those feathers. “Why…that’s impossible,” said the woman, “the wind has scattered the feathers to who knows where. I’ll never be able to find them all.”

“I know,” nodded the preacher. “Now perhaps you can see how utterly impossible it will be for you to undo the damage performed by your wagging tongue. Even though God has forgiven you, the harm you’ve done cannot ever be totally undone.”