The Feathery Tongue

The Feathery Tongue

Bible Blast: Read James 3:1-12

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8

There is a Roman story of a little girl who went to see a wise man, Saint Philip Neri. She wasn’t a bad girl, but she had a major problem with gossip. Saint Philip said to her, “Little girl, it isn’t right for you to gossip. I have two things I want you to do to help you destroy that terrible habit.” The girl knew she had a problem, so she agreed to do whatever he said. “First,” Saint Philip said, “buy a bird at the town market. Then as you are leaving town, pluck every feather out of the bird and drop them on the road until all the feathers are gone.”

The young girl did exactly as Saint Philip said. She went to town, bought a bird, and plucked all its feathers out as she walked, dropping them on the ground. She returned to Saint Philip and said, “Sir, I have done as you said with the bird. What is the second thing I need to do?” He looked down at her and said, “You must go back the way you came and pick up every feather you dropped.”

“But, sir,” she exclaimed, “that’s impossible! Feathers are so light and easily tossed by the breeze! None of them will be where I dropped them! I might be able to find some of them, but there’s no way I could gather them all!”

Saint Philip smiled warmly at her. “Dear child, you are right. Do you see how the feathers are like your hurtful words? When you gossip behind someone’s back, don’t those words travel from ear to ear to ear all over the village until they’re too widespread for you to take them back?”

“Yes, sir. I see what you mean. Now what do I do?” she said with a quiet voice.

The wise man got down on his knee and looked her in the eyes. “My dear child, the next time you are tempted to speak mean things about someone else, keep your mouth closed. Don’t scatter the feathers. Just keep them on the bird.”

Girl Gab: Mom, can you think of a time when you were hurt by someone else’s words as a child? Tell your daughter about that. Daughter, tell your mom if you have been hurt by gossip or if you have hurt others with your words. Spend some time asking forgiveness from God for your hurtful words and forgiving those who have hurt you. If you need to ask someone to forgive you, make plans to do that.