“Whoever speaks loshon hora raises sins to the Heavens.” (Arachin 15b),
The Chofetz Chaim teaches that this should be taken literally. When we speak negatively of our fellow Jews, this causes the sins of our people to be noted in Heaven, where they are brought before the Heavenly Throne for judgment.
Obviously, we should never sin. But if we do, certainly don’t speak loshon hora and give the Satan all the ammunition he needs to prosecute us for those sins!
We think we’re merely chatting, when in reality, we’re delivering the day’s caseload to the Satan.
Before speaking loshon hora, ask yourself: IS IT WORTH IT?