Slander or Concern? Final Part IV

Slander can easily be confused with the term “Concern”. Often times if we aren’t aware and alert, we can find ourselves in conversations that were masked with the label of concern. There is a great deal of difference between slander and concern and yet the lines that separate them can easily be smudged and hard to distinguish if not careful. The most difficult situation to find yourself in is when someone you have always trusted and had confidence in, draws you into a conversation that does not carry any concern or love, but instead is filled with ridicule and verbal slaughter of another brother or sister.

Scripture is very adamant that we should not be in the company of slanderers. Often we overlook slander if it doesn’t involve us. Because we aren’t the target, that makes it ok, right? Because we aren’t the ones getting verbally executed, we don’t have to worry, correct? I use words that describe various acts of homicide not to be cruel and gruesome, but rather to illustrate what slander actually is. Slander is the verbal act of killing another. Many people would never pick up a gun, knife or hatchet and kill someone, but they will pick up a verbal machete and hack their brother or sister to pieces.

Proverbs 10:18 ESV “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.”

The scripture refers to a slanderer as a fool. Slander is never just a simple act of talking about someone behind his or her back or running them down. There is usually an underlying problem or situation that is laden within the individual doing the slandering. The problem with slander is that it is never just about the person being slandered. It’s a cover up act that is used to hide personal issues and problems. The example of Cain shows us that the murder wasn’t about Abel or about God; it was about his own measly sacrifice that was rejected by God. And this personal problem turned into a hatred for anything good someone else was producing. It was an act of jealousy and self-righteousness.

Slander is simply an act of self-righteousness and personal interest. But in order to overt the attention from ones own problem, people who will slander another brother or sister will preface their slander with “I’m just worried about them” or “I’m really concerned about them”. But instead of praying for them and examining themselves they will quickly pick up the phone, send an email or get on a social networking site and defame and slander a man or woman. The purpose of slander is to crush your opponent while lifting oneself up.

If I have been working on a garden and have been using the wrong ingredients and methods to grow a nice garden and have only been able to grow two roses in my flowerbed, while you have a garden blooming with flowers right next to mine. It would be much easier for me to preserve my pride and ego by not admitting that I have been using the wrong method and instead sneak into your garden at night and destroy your work by pulling all your flowers up and chopping all your roses down. Come morning, my two roses will look like the botanical gardens next to your desecrated and vandalized garden.

This is exactly what Cain did and exactly what a slanderer will do. Jesus said you WILL know them by their fruits. If a man is not producing fruits and yet has a lot of opinions on other men’s gardens, beware. Just as God cursed Cain, His labor and his relationships, God will do the same to a slanderer. A slanderer will always have personal problems and frustrations, his work will never truly produce good fruits and he will always be at odds with other men. These are the signs that will follow a man who does not follow the method of dealing with another brother as laid out before us by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17.

So, what is the difference between Slander and Concern? The most notable difference is that Slander is an act against another that does not include that persons warranted chance to defend themselves. Instead, slander is committed by defaming a brother or sister to another person without the brother or sister being present. Slander in its root form is an act of self-righteousness. Slander is the act of destroying another in order to appear superior and ignore personal issues.

Concern is the act of defending someone against slander. Concern is not rooted in selfish desire; on the contrary, concern will cause one to risk their own selves to protect the life and reputation of another. Concern will always follow the correct protocol of scripture when dealing with situation concerning brothers or sisters.

In summary, we as the children of God must be very careful not to get caught in the web of slander. We must allow the spirit to quicken us and help us discern the difference between Slander and Concern. Many will come and speak to you under the pretense of Concern, but in reality they are simply looking for an open ear to filter their slander through. These individuals are called “wolves in sheep’s clothing”, now days they will come in the form of a phone call, blog post, email, letter or website, but the principle still remains. “You shall know them by their fruits”.

The scripture is very plain to tell us that we must first examine the mote in our own eye before pointing out the speck in our brothers. We must first clean the inside of the cup and we must make sure to watch our judgment, for we will be judged by the same measuring stick that we use. We must know them that labor among us and we must pray for those we labor with. We should not be quick to slander a brother or sister, but rather we must be quick to be honestly concerned for our brothers and sisters.

I pray that this four part series on “Slander or Concern?!” has blessed you. May we all labor together and fulfill the commission of Christ and reach the world, Together!