Slander arouses anger, because it disparages someone else. The command for parents ‘not to provoke their children’ means not to slander. One can point out someone else’s mistake and provide advice, but if such words are devaluing or provokes guilt, then it will arouse anger.
Even though God is able to judge and evaluate us with utmost precision, God always considers us to be noble and worthy. This is because God created us in His own image. What’s more, those who have received salvation are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, regardless of their current state. Therefore, we are commanded not to slander our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, even if they wronged us. If we think about God’s plans and goals for each of us, we should have a gentle desire to guide them to the right path, but should never slander them. To do so would be to stand on the seat of God, who is the ultimate Judge.
“Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbour? “ (James 4:11-12)
There are times when we hear slanderous words or criticisms against us. If we feel that this is based on false evidence or judgement, we can lose sleep thinking how unfair the situation is. Usually in these situations, we have a natural tendency to want to slander that person out of revenge. However, we should not face that person in that state of mind. We should calm ourselves, even if we want to disprove them right away. Rather, we should approach God openly with our hurt feelings and petition against those who have wronged us. This is also known as a ‘cursing prayer’. Cursing directly to other people would be a sin, however, pouring out our hurt feelings to God in prayer is an expression of faith, like in the Psalms.
Moreover, we need to listen closely to God. Because God always encourages us and tells us that we are worthy, even when we are sinners. In this way, we find our broken self-esteem recover and at the same time, appeal to God to avenge. If we do so, God can either let us know the appropriate words to say to build up the other person, or God can touch the other person’s heart to make them apologise for their wrongdoing. Or yet still, there are also times when we just need to trust God, stay silent and let it pass.
Slander is language that come from evil spirits. The lips of believers cannot speak both slander and praise at the same time. We must be trained in the Lord and learn not to slander against anyone in any circumstance.
