“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.”
James 4:11 (NIV)
This 4th chapter of James is an indictment of our hearts – though he starts with the outward actions of fighting and quarrelling, he very quickly links them to our hearts and then links the attitudes of our hearts to unfaithfulness to God. It is a sobering section of Scripture and we would do well to apply his prescription for true spiritual health;
submit to God
resist the devil
come near to God
wash our hands
purify our hearts
grieve, mourn and wail over our state
humble ourselves before the Lord
He then moves on to the outward action of slander and of boasting about our activities.
Would we be willing to accept James’ description of slander?
The common definition of slander is; to make false or damaging statements about someone.
James describes it as judging the Law and the Law Giver, making it clear that his description of slander is us taking God’s place regarding a fellow Christian’s actions. If we cast our minds back over the recent conversations we have had with other Christians about other Christians’ behaviours – we wonder – was I involved in slander? Really easy to identify slander when lies are involved – but what if no lies are involved, only the truth? Were we taking God’s place – did the behaviour happen in the past and has God forgiven that behaviour. We need be careful for our heart is deceitful, and we could be “speaking truth” out of a malicious, prideful heart. Are we sure that we weren’t trying to make ourselves look good by speaking about another Christian’s forgiven sins? Let us not join in the work of the accuser of our brothers and sisters.
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