Craig T. Owens

David describes slanderers like this: “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips” (Psalm 140:3). 

I’m sure you have experienced the poisonous, stinging bites of a slanderer’s fangs, just as David did. 

Instead of lashing out, David prays:

Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet. … May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent. I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. (Psalm 140:4, 11-12) 

Notice what David doesn’t do and does do:

🚫 He doesn’t respond to the evil people that have spewed slander at him. 

✅ He does ask God to deal with those gossips and slanderers.

Let’s follow his example. When the attacks come your way, let God respond to those people, and let us follow the example of another prayer of David: “Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed” (Psalm 57:1). 

Gossip and slander are two of the painful bites I discuss in my book When Sheep Bite. And you may also be interested in a series of sermons I shared called When Sheep Bite Sheep.