Elul 13
Slander
“…nor give place to the devil.” (Eph 4:27 ISR)
Those of us who call
ourselves children of the living
Elohim would never knowingly ‘give
place’ to the adversary; we know better, at least, we should. However, I would like to focus our attention
on something I am seeing more and more of, particularly in our Torah observant
communities. When we participate in this
behavioral pattern, we are coming into agreement with our enemy, and we have
moved over to his camp.
The Scriptures teach
us that the adversary is the “accuser of our brethren”, and that he stands
before Elohim day and night, bad-mouthing us (Rev 12:10). Yes, he uses lies and untruths, for we also
know that “he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). However, with all of the distortions of the
truth that he is a master of, his number one weapon in his arsenal is slander.
Slander is defined as
“a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report.”[1] There is way too much of this going on in our
modern society. With our so-called
esteemed politicians and 'call-it-wood' actors and film makers setting their brilliant example for us, this type of venomous behavior is becoming the new ‘norm’. Those of us on social media are not exempt
from this evil either. We have our own
band of ‘Torah Terrorists’ who religiously scroll daily, “seeking someone to
devour” (1Pet 5:8).
Do we not realize
that when we sprout malignant, vicious words about another who is also made in the image of Elohim, we
have now become a witness for the prosecution, haSatan? Yes, we are overloaded with false teachers and
ministers; nevertheless, that is not my immediate concern. What needs to be addressed is how illegal – according to the instructions
laid out for us in the Torah and Talmud – this type of activity is. There are specific directions that we must
follow, which includes bringing two or more witnesses with us, as we bring the
accused to the Sanhedrin. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we given
license to openly and publicly accuse anyone of anything; it must all be
carried out in the proper legal manner (see Deu 19:15-19), else we ourselves will bear the title of ‘accuser
of the brethren’.
What the many who
engage in this type of exercise seem to forget is the admonition Rav Sha’ul (Apostle Paul) gave us in Rom
2:1-3:
“Therefore, O man, you are without excuse,
everyone who judges, for in which you judge another you condemn yourself, since
you who judge practise the same wrongs.
And we know that the judgment of Elohim is according to truth against those who
practise such wrongs. And do
you think, O man, you who judge those practising such wrongs, and doing the same, that you shall escape the judgment
of Elohim?”
By opening our mouths
in slander and bitter accusations, we too are violating the laws of Torah, and
stand just as condemned as the one we are accusing. And, according to Torah, the judgment reserved
for the one we are accusing will also be
ours, most especially if it is found that our accusations and charges were
false (Deu 19:18-19). Folks, this is
serious.
We are expected to be
‘kind to one another’ (Eph 4:32), not ever ‘back-biting and devouring each
other’ (Gal 5:15). Ya’aqob (James), the brother of our Messiah warns us concerning ‘both
blessing and cursing coming from the same mouth’ (James 3:10); this is
something that should never be. And one more
thought we need to bear in mind: Elohim
does not need us as part of His
defense team. He is more than capable of
refuting and exposing all false teachers, leaders, and ministers that are a
dime a dozen out there. We are simply called to be a light.
“And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace.” (James 3:18 ISR)
©2018
No comments:
Post a Comment