ADAR
9
Slinging
Mud
“Who is
the man who desires life, who loves many days, in order to see good? Keep your
TONGUE FROM EVIL, And your LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. Turn away from evil and
do good; Seek peace, and pursue it.” (Ps
34:12-14, emphasis mine)
Jewish
Wisdom prohibits ALL calumny (a false
and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or
something[1]),
backbiting and slander; in the Hebrew language, this is often referred to as LaShon Hara, and literally means ‘evil
speech’. To the Torah-observant Jew,
this is one of the worst sins that can be committed, for it brings death and
destruction to relationships. Jews
believe that LaShon Hara commits a
three-fold murder and desecration: It
destroys the slanderer, the listener, and the one being maligned.[2]
A
‘moral leprosy’ is one description I found of this evil; the basis of this
definition coming from Num 12:1-15, which is the account of the slander done to
Moses by his siblings, Aaron and Miriam.
For the part she played in this situation, Miriam was struck with
biblical leprosy. Because Moses
intervened on her behalf, Miriam was healed, and after seven days, could return
to the camp.
Lev
19:16 tells us that we are not to go
“slandering among our people”, and Ex
23:1 instructs us to “not bring a false report, and to not put our hand with the
wrong to be a malicious witness.” Mr.
Webster defines ‘slander’ as “A false tale or report maliciously uttered, and
tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of
his fellow citizens, by exposing him to impeachment and punishment, or by
impairing his means of living; defamation.”[3] However, the Jewish people believe that not
only does falsehood spoken with a malicious intent come under LaShon Hara, but so also is the truth,
when it is spoken in such a way as to cause shame and humiliation. As such, the one who speaks LaShon Hara is one who markets and
solicits slander and calumny.
We
live in a time, unfortunately, where mudslinging has reached a new peak, an
all-time high. From the White House,
through all the chambers of our government, across the country to the supposed
‘elite’ of the Hollywood screen, to law enforcement officials, to the
proponents of the LBGT lifestyle, and to the average ‘Joe’ in the
workplace: the mud is deep.
And this ought to never be so. It
is sickening to hear people talk of one another in this manner, regardless of who you are, and it is something that Yahweh
our Elohim is not pleased with. He is
the giver of life, yet often we find
ourselves engaging in this practice that kills and brings death to
relationships and reputations. Added to
this, we are speaking against one
that is created in the image of our Abba Father.
The Word of our Elohim teaches us that haSatan
is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10; Zec 3:1) in the Heavenly Courtroom,
and that Messiah Yeshua is our Advocate and Defense Attorney (1John 2:1). Every time we choose to backbite, slander, speak evil and use negative,
criticizing, degrading speech about an individual, we stand as a witness for the enemy, coming into
agreement with him in his accusations against that person. What does this do to the heart of the One who
died to bring that person redemption?
“Brothers,
DO NOT SPEAK AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. He that speaks against a brother and judges
his brother, speaks against Torah and judges Torah. And if you judge Torah, you
are not a doer of Torah but a judge. There is one Lawgiver and Judge, who is
able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11-12, emphasis mine)
Messiah Yeshua summed up all the Torah in two commandments: loving Elohim with everything in
us and loving our neighbor as we do ourselves (see Mark 12:30-37). If we love and respect ourselves as someone
created by our Elohim, would we be spending time (continuously) spreading
negative, ‘evil speech’ about ourselves? Brethren, if we are to “walk in the light as
HE is in the light” (1John 1:7; Eph 5:8), we must learn to love, honor and
respect one another, and it should be
evident in the way we talk about each other. Let us decide, this day, that our words towards and about our brother/sister will
always be for encouragement, edification, and comfort (Rom 14:19, 15:2), and
bring honor and glory to our Abba Father … Amein.
©2021
[1]
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/calumny?s=t
[3]
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828
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