Gossip

Gossip

A woman repeated a little bit of gossip about a neighbor, and within a short period of time the whole town knew the story. The person it concerned was hurt deeply and was very unhappy.

Then one day the lady responsible for the rumor learned it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.

After listening to the problem, he said, “Go to the marketplace, purchase a fowl, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers out one by one and drop them along the path.

Although surprised by this unusual advice, the woman did as she was told. The next day she returned and informed the man she had done as he instructed. “Now go and collect all those feathers and bring them back to me,” he said.

The lady followed the same path, but to her dismay the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching all day long, she returned with only two or three in her hand – all that could be found.

“You see,” said the old gentleman, “it’s easy to drop them, but impossible to bring them all back. So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a false rumor, but you can never completely undo the wrong.”

Solomon said, “The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.” Proverbs 12:12-14

Guys – we tend to think only women gossip. Well guess what – we are as guilty. If you are not sure if you should share something, look at the little chart on the right. Purpose not to be a gossip. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Luke 22; John 13; Psalm 119:17-24; Proverbs 10

Compass Pointers: Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you! Spanish Proverb

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: John 15:10; Level 2: John 15:1-7

Anchored to the Rock: When a man makes an alliance with the Almighty, giants look like grasshoppers. Vance Havner