It’s one thing when you hear someone slandering someone else, but what about when you are actually the subject of the slanderous remarks?
First thought that should come to your mind is that Jesus was slandered, lied about, and falsely accused, which is what got Him arrested in the first place. We are in good company. None of us has been maligned like our own Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth. And He is still maligned to this day by atheists and other unbelievers. And at any time He could with justice strike them all down. But He is long-suffering. He loves to show mercy, and He delights to return good for evil. And at the end of the day, He will be the One to take vengeance, and we will not. That is a good thing too.
With that in mind, then I believe you must do several things. First, you thank God. (I’m not joking.) Next, you pray that God will bless the slanderer (still not joking). Then you ask God to give you the opportunity to return good for the evil. Maybe you will find them with car trouble, and you’ll be able to give them a lift. Maybe it will simply be the chance to smile and say hi.
When you do these things, you will keep your heart from bitterness and resentment. You cannot thank God and ask Him to bless someone who has wronged you without letting go of the bitterness.
If the slander has been public and everyone knows about it, then you should do these things all the more. I am not saying you should treat the offender like he is an old fishing buddy. But you should treat him or her with courtesy, not with snootiness. And do not retaliate by spreading slander yourself.
Then pray that God will vindicate you. He is good at these things. Be patient. And don’t worry about it. Consider it an opportunity to grow. And of course, if you are given the opportunity to deny the charges, march on it and do so cheerfully. But don’t let it keep you up nights. That’s what the devil wants. In contrast, God wants you to rejoice when these things happen. Listen to Him.
And if it is your children who are being slandered, then thank God that they have the opportunity to learn these lessons at such a young age. And show them how.
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God has given you so much wisdom. Thank you for sharing it to encourage others.
I know that you understand this very well. And I know that all the things you say here are right. Thank you for writing them out for us.
In the middle of the situation I am in, I was really comforted and brought to tears a few weeks ago reading about Jesus being slandered, lied about, rejected by everyone, as he gave his life for us. That really is the example for us all . For a few days there that particular lesson was clear in my mind. It is good to have it brought to the front again.
I have to say that I understand all the pieces of your message, and need to pray for grace to bring them all together.
It is really helpful to have this list to help keep my head together.
Thank you very much!
Just a short p.s. Missy: Of course, in order to do these impossible things, we need the strength and grace of God. It’s not the way our flesh is inclined to react!
Nancy,
Thank you for being a beacon in this world. Oh, the joy that fills my heart when I read passages such as these. God is surely glorified in them. Thank you for your encouragement. I know you will realize it fully in our future home and how much Christ is exalted in my heart when I am reminded of these truths. I thank God for you.
Love this, thank you. I know you’ve written about us ladies being practical, and this list puts handles on a very vague “be Godly” in response to slander.
A timely blessing and clear reminder. Many thanks.
Thank you so much.
As people said above, thank you.
I’ve already commented on this post but after thinking about it some more I just want to thank you again, particularly for the tone of the last paragraph which is such an encouragement to not take ourselves so seriously.
Thanks for this. I’m linking to your post as I know someone who would greatly benefit from from reading this today.
What a blessing this is to me! Thank you for taking the time to share! I recently discovered your blog and truly look forward to reading along as you continue to share.
Thank you for this. It was just the encouragement that I needed after facing a difficult person from my past today.
Okay.. true confession time here. Over the last few days I have been really struggling with resentment towards a particular child in my church. Yes, a child, and yes, I do know how pathetic that is. This boy has oh-so-earnestly lied about my kid and I am just steaming about it. My boy is a rather ruff and tumble sorta boy, not terribly articulate and actually rather shy, whereas this other boy is terribly smart and sings in the choir and is the first one to answer all the questions come Bible drill time. He has told his parents that my son has done certain things really just to get himself out of trouble. Of course his parents believe him, and I don’t suppose I blame them… sigh. Really, truly not a big deal but I find myself tossing over the situation at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes I actually find myself almost seething over the whole sordid thing. Eeeek, I wish I were a bigger person, but there it is. I just hate the fact that I am so immature when it comes to this. Hey, folks can lie about me all they want and it really doesn’t faze me, but slander my child and it’ll break my heart. I need to do as you suggest and pray for this child, pray God’s blessing upon him and go out of my way to show kindness towards him and his parents…. even if it kills me. Which it just might.
But I suppose that’s the point of this whole sort of thing, eh? Death to self and all that jazz:-/
Thanks for this again…the list of Wilson things to read over and over just keeps getting longer. 🙂