Noteworthy quote...

I ran across this quote a couple of weeks ago on a blog that I read. I've been holding it in my email inbox until now. It arrived at just the right time and seems quite apropos to my life right now...

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you will do things differently.” - Warren Buffett

See, I believe I've done things differently, guarded my reputation, taken steps to be careful and cautious. Still someone seeks to ruin my reputation. Sad, really that someone can speak harmful words allowing them to spread to others; burning with the flames of deceit. Sad that others would listen, people who know me, and not put out the wildfire. That's gossip, ugly gossip... and it spreads and changes and spreads some more.

So, I am faced with defending my honor against an unnamed force. But when I know their name...oh, when I know the name of my accuser...

I will have to forgive them for their ignorance, forgive them for the hurt they've caused me and my family, forgive them for spreading such a lie. It won't be easy to forgive because my nature says to lash out, destroy, to get even, and never trust again. God's nature however, tells me to forgive and walk away.

Notice I didn't say forgive and forget. I'm not God. I won't forget, I can't. That's probably the worst thing about this type of rumor, it can't easily be forgotten. So it will remain in my mind but not my heart because once I've forgiven, it's gone from my heart.

So, read that quote again. Let it be a reminder the next time you listen to or are tempted to share a juicy piece of gossip. You could be destroying a reputation... your own.