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Daily Grace At
Jesus` Feet
February 5, 2010 Brothers, do not slander one another – James 4:11 Of the several sinful acts that are being overlooked today in Christendom “Slandering” is one. Slandering is malicious talk against a person with the inner motive to defame and usually by passing rumors. The Word of God comes directly against this activity in a believer. Apostle James addresses an important question on what causes fights and quarrels among believers (James 4). He is convinced that “slandering” is one of the major hurdles in the spiritual growth of a believer. James not only gives the reasons for the strife in Christian community but also offers the solutions for strife. While he rebukes the acts of pride, covetousness, compromise, anger, and slander etc., he gives solution to these problems. He says submit to God (James 4:7) and get right with people. James clarifies that if you slander against a person, you take the seat of God for God alone has the right to judge. James slashes the act of slandering in verses 11 and 12, he says, “Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?” In Ephesians 4:30-32, Paul commands us, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” The reason one should not slander against one another is that it grieves the Holy Spirit. Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, “Our people come to us and pour out their hearts, confess certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.” In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, “Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?” Finally he answered, “It is gossiping and slandering, and I can hardly wait to get out of here.” Another reason, why slandering is dangerous to the healthy life of a Christian is that, it make him unclean. In Matthew 15, Jesus addresses a question raised by Pharisees and teachers regarding “what make a man unclean?” Jesus says, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” Jesus further explains to Peter and other surrounded when Peter asked Jesus to “explain.” He says an evil thought that comes out of the mouth comes out of the heart (like, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander) make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' As we can see, Jesus list slander as one of the evil thoughts that corrupts a believer’s soul and make him unclean. Another important reason why “slander” is evil is that it prevents one to inherit the "Test of Three?" "Yes," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's test what you're going to say. The first test - is it True?: Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" "No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it." "All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?" "No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?" "No, not really..." Another way to handle this issue was highlighted by Alan Redpath in his book, A Passion for Preaching. He offers a simple formula before speaking of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial. Apply the “THINK” formula: T--Is it
true? H--Is it helpful?
I--Is it inspiring? N--Is it necessary? K--Is it kind? It is time to start slashing the slander! Prayer: Father, please forgive me for the involvement in the past and give me wisdom to handle this issue in a Christ-honoring way. In Jesus Name…Amen. May you have a Blessed Day! “Daily Grace at Jesus` Feet,” - Devotionals written by Dr. Paul Joseph. Copyright 2010 - 2011 Dr. Paul Joseph; All rights reserved.
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