The other day I had a realisation…
James teaches us that Faith without works is dead. He challenges:
“Show me your Faith without deeds, and I will show you my Faith, by my deeds.”
(James 2:18b NIV)
James is the book of Deeds.
Hebrews is the book of Faith,
…and Hebrews and James are back-to-back in your Bible… How cool is that! You can’t have the one without the other! No Faith without Deeds…
Anyhoo… I got stuck on a particular verse.
In Chapter 4, James paraphrases from Leviticus…
”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.”
(James 4:11a NIV)
Now… I have to say…
As I was outlining my notes, I stepped into a situation where I got so frustrated that I said things about another person that probably would fall under this verse.
And the devil inevitably and persistently nagged at me: How do you dare teach this if you fail at it so miserably!?
My answer?
Obviously God needs me to learn something, otherwise He wouldn’t have shown me this passage! So I am digging in and looking at it harder!
I started wondering… what does slander mean in the context of James the “Do-er”?
I always understood slander in the legal sense:
”A false statement, usually made orally, which defames another person.”
So I can say it,
Repeat it,
And share it,
(…but it must be true…?)
In the bible, “Slander” is katalaleó in Greek and it means:
- To Talk down to
- To detract from someone’s reputation
- It questions character
- Undermines reputation
- It goes beyond mere criticism…
It means, in short, to speak evil of someone, regardless whether it is opinion, true or fabricated…
A bit before that, James warns us about the tongue, and says:
”With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.”
(James 3:9 NIV)
About “Slander”, BibleREF says:
“As used in the Bible, slander means to question someone’s authority, to spread hurtful lies about them, or even to say unkind, unhelpful things about them. To judge someone is to assume a position of authority over them.”
When I slander, when I speak evil, when I say unkind things… when I break down instead of uplift… I have judged myself better than “them”…
”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
(Matthew 7:3 NIV)
So this got me thinking… 🤔
I can sit here next to you and speak badly about a guy I saw on the YouTubes or the TicketyToks… (or someone you know) and maybe it changes your opinion, and maaaybe it gets to them or you stop watching their videos, or some such… but what harm does it really do them?
They could take offence … or they could shrug it off, and walk away. In most cases the it will probably never have an impact… So why is James so adamant? And why would Jesus bring it prominently into His teachings?
King David has slain many “big” enemies… He conquered and the retook Jerusalem from the Jebusites, Subdued the Philistines, Struck down 22,000 Syrians and 18,000 Edomites, killed Goliath… and a lion… and a bear!
His BIG battles was his easy battles.
The ones he lost were the small hidden ones that grew in secret… and overcame him.
Maybe Jesus was teaching the obvious, like James were… but maybe they both knew something else as well.
What does slander do in me?
- it plants a seed of pride – “I am better than that guy”
- It makes me a judge of the person – taking God’s place
- It removes love from my relationship with the person I am talking about, as well as the person I’m talking to.
- It self justifies… “I am not perfect, but I am not as bad as him…”
- It wants attention “like me more!”
I obviously have a problem. But how to fix it?
I believe Jesus has the answer right there in the sermon on the mount:
He hung around with a few characters that would have had people’s tongues wagging!
Who was in his chosen group? A tax collector, a zealot, the hotheads (the sons of thunder) how did Jesus treat them? How did He treat Zacchaeus? How did he treat the woman of negotiable affection that anointed Him? How did He treat the criminal on the cross next to Him?
”You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:5 NIV)
I broke Jesus’ words down for myself like this:
“You Hypocrite”
What… Who? Me?! Yes you… Pay Attention!
”…first take the plank out of your own eye…”
Look at yourself and the junk going on in your own life. Let’s fix that. Let’s heal what is broken in you. Let’s tend to your wounds and your bruises and make your standing right with God. Close your mouth, open your heart and let Me, and the Holy Spirit, work.
”then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Once you have started healing, your sight will also clear up and you will see the truth about the person, instead of focussing on their actions… Then you can also build up and lift up, instead of breaking down, killing and destroying them. The you can help them become who they are supposed to be in Christ.
Hopefully then my attitude will change from…
“That guy is a [add your favourite descriptive metaphor]”
… to…
“I wonder why he acts that way… I wonder if I can help him? Maybe he needs someone to talk to…”
I am not saying to condone evil, or paste over bad behaviour… Jesus did cleanse the Temple, after all and He did call the religious leaders a brood of vipers.
But I am saying that slander and judgement has more to do with my attitude and with the condition of my heart, than with what is happening in front of me or in their lives. By all means… cleanse the temple. But do it for the right reason and with the right attitude.
In the end, they will be judged by God… but so will I.
