UNWANTED MESSAGES

Gangs recently “tagged” a medical clinic about a mile from my home. Within a couple days, maintenance staff temporarily painted over it, Because this was winter, they'd have to wait for warmer weather to re-do the whole wall. I won't even try to guess what that would cost the clinic in paint and manpower. But every time I passed this building, I thought of people whose anger problems lead to verbal graffiti in the form of harsh words at or about others, even those who try to help them.

Such behavior is called “slander,” defined as “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation.” In the original Greek of the New Testament, “slander” is translated from diabolos, meaning “slanderous” and “accusing falsely.” (The Greek word may ring a bell as close to the name “Diablo,” given to bad characters in fiction or drama.) Slanderous behavior, Paul wrote, will escalate before Christ's return to judge the world (1 Timothy 3:11). Concordances defining “slander” connect it with gossip, lying, perverse tongues, unwholesome talk, bitter envy, busybodies and more.

The Bible also portrays its opposite behavior. Psalm 15 commends the person who "has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man” (v. 3)

Proverbs offers hope for the those wounded by slander: “When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7). That verse encouaged me regarding the situation of someone with a good heart who was wounded by slander conveyed in person and via social media. What they endured was like emotional graffiti on their true, better self. Of that situation, the Lord reminded me: 

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

Because my neighborhood's graffiti landed on a rehab facility, I thought about how the Lord can “rehab” the heart that practices slander. Scripture is one powerful “rehab” tool; a chapter-in-day in Proverbs, for example, exposes the reader to dozens of warnings about this abusive habit.

Another help—worth posting to a computer screen or the bathroom mirror—is the life challenge to think first before speaking. THINK is the acrostic for messages that are True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, or Kind. Yes, the behavior that Jesus modeled for us.