Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:16 NLT)
Slander is defined as: “The utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.” (Merriman-Webster dictionary)
I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride. (Psalm 101:5 NLT)
Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. (Proverbs 10:18-19 NLT)
And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. (Matthew 12:36)
In my book When Sheep Bite, I have a whole chapter about dealing with slanderers. In that chapter I wrote—
You might be thinking, “But I have to respond to these lies, right? I can’t just let them continue to fly around unchecked because people may start believing these falsehoods.” I think this is a very natural response, but I want to again call us to strive for a supernatural response—something we can only do if we are completely yielded to God. Just as we saw what Peter wrote about the way Jesus didn’t verbally lash out at His slanderers (1 Peter 2:23), we need to respond in the same way as our Chief Shepherd did. …
Don’t treat those who criticize and slander you as an enemy. Instead, grieve for their hardened hearts and pray for God’s mercy on them. Intercede for them to be able to acknowledge their sinful words, so they may ask God for forgiveness before His judgment inevitably falls on them. Remember that these sheep—though they are angry and attacking—are still ones for whom Jesus shed His blood. The natural response may be a desire to see our slanderers eternally punished, but the supernatural response is to desire for their soul to be eternally in God’s presence. (Excerpt from When Sheep Bite)
God-fearing people are not to listen to slander nor to slander another. Every human is created in the image of God—to slander another is to slander his or her Creator.
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