Damaging Words
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. Proverbs 16:28 (NIV)
Probably not too many of us know much about this colorful bird. The word "pileated" comes from the Latin word pileatus, which means "capped" or "crested". Both males and females sport this distinctive red crest, but the male’s extends further toward the bill. Now, I can guarantee we know more about gossip than the woodpecker. Let’s read what Twila Bennett (All God’s Creatures) learned about it.
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Many creatures take shelter in Camp Roger’s protected woods in Rockford, Michigan. One of my favorites is the pileated woodpecker. They are huge birds, often growing to be sixteen to nineteen inches in length, with brilliant red heads, coal-colored feathers, and white stripes on the face and neck
While I was eating outside one day with coworkers, I caught sight of a pileated flying to a tall pine tree. With the speed of a jackhammer, the bird pounded the wood with his beak. The flip of his neck was so fast that my eyes could hardly register each hit. He hopped around the entire trunk of the tree, going up and down the back to discover the insects he knew were there. Around camp, we have seen a single woodpecker destroy a wooden wall with its constant pecking.
Gossip can be as destructive as that bird’s beak.
After listening to a friend tell me about an important event in her life, I ended up sharing pieces of the story with a few people. Later, I overheard one of those people retell what I had told her, but she had completely turned the situation upside down and embellished it in an ugly way. I jumped in to clarify, but it was too late. The gossip had turned into a damaging and mostly untrue rumor about a dear friend who had trusted me with her personal information. My heart sank.
Plain and simple, words have the power to destroy a relationship more quickly than the beat of that woodpecker’s beak can demolish wood. I learned an important lesson that day—that keeping my mouth shut and being a trustworthy friend is more important than sharing a story.
Dear Lord, the next time I’m tempted to share a story that isn’t mine to tell, remind me of that pileated woodpecker, and instill in me the power to be quiet. AMEN.