Why Do We Slander One Another?

Chuckle: "Why did your mom marry your dad?" An elementary school child replied, "My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on."

Quote: “No soul of high estate can take pleasure in slander. It betrays a weakness.” --Blaise Pascal

"Brothers, do not slander (defame, speak evil against) one another" (James 4:11a NIV ).

Here, James strongly condemns destructive speech -- words used to spread hostility and erode the prestige or character of another person. To slander is to say something about a person, in his absence, in a malicious way in order to influence the opinion of others against him. Why would one Christian say something slanderous or defaming about another? The Bible says there are several possible reasons:

To conceal our own sins: Romans 2:3, "So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on others and you do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?" He was saying, "you Jews are judging Gentiles but you are doing the same things." Isn't it strange that we are so blind to our own faults and so keenly aware of the faults of others? We should ask God help us to see our own sins. Jesus asked this question in Matthew 7:3: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank (beam) in your own eye?"

For revenge - to get even: This means to exact a reprisal on someone who has hurt us in some way. We want to hurt them in return. We want everyone to know the real truth about how badly they hurt us. But we should remember that only God can set the record straight. We all have had things said about us that were not true -- or half-truths. But the way we react to such abuses is an indication of whether or not we have matured spiritually. God can take care of that person. Let's leave it to Him. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19).

Because of pride: Does it make you feel good and powerful to know something about someone that no one else knows? Does it give you a feeling of power, pride, and superiority to say: "I know this or that about someone?" "The words of gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts" (Proverbs 18:8). God, through James, says I have a command for you: "Do not slander one another."

"A story was told about a young man, during the Middle Ages, who said to a monk, 'I've sinned by telling slanderous statements about someone. What should I do now?' The monk replied, 'Put a feather on every doorstep in town.' The young man did it. He then returned to the monk, wondering if there was anything else that he should do. The monk said, 'Go back and pick up all the feathers.' The young man replied, 'That's impossible! By now the wind will have blown them all over town!' Said the monk, 'So have your slanderous words become impossible to retrieve." --Uncertain Source

Love, Jerry & Dotse