Slander

  The tongue, said James, “can make the whole of life a blazing hell” (Jas. 3.6. ). And never is the tongue more lethal than when it slanders.

Possibly the most disturbing account of slander in Scripture is the story involving Doeg the Edomite. King Saul’s paranoia had turned homicidal, and to save his life, David had to flee. Eventually, he came to Nob, a priestly city. Hungry and desperate, he lied in order to persuade Abimelech the priest to give him the sacred showbread that was in the Tabernacle.

It happened that at the time David was in Nob, so too was Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul’s toadies. When Doeg next saw Saul, he reported that Abimelech had given food and Goliath’s sword to David. Which was true. But what Doeg insinuated by what he related could not have been more false; his implication was that Abimelech had aided and abetted Saul’s enemy.

Despite Abimelech’s protestations of innocence (1 Sam. 22.14–15), Saul chose to see a conspiracy, and he ordered Abimelech executed. Doeg carried out this order, killing 85 other priests in addition to Abimelech.

Here, then, is a picture of slander. The treachery of slander doesn’t necessary lie in what is said; rather, slander promotes a false impression by how and why it says something. Through these means, slander can break the heart and assassinate reputation.

Blessed is that person whose tongue is obedient to the law of Christ, whose words edify and comfort, and who never offers poison disguised as sincere concern.

Kenny Chumbly