In this day of bullying-gossip was the original bully.

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.”

Don’t you just hate backstabbing gossip? Those who slander and defame you and don’t have the courage to face you? They are jealous and hateful people and they bear false witness and attempt to make themselves appear righteous. They do a lot of damage and God sees it all. The Bible says that “A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a heavy sledgehammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.”

God says he hates, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren. They shall not escape, be left unpunished, and they shall perish.

As also says the law, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor…Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness and if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother. Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you…”

“How would your life be different if…You walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? Let today be the day…You speak only the good you know of other people and encourage others to do the same.”

Brother Stephen

Just my thoughts.