2 I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me.
3 But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
4 I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?
5 They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me.
6 They come together to spy on me— watching my every step, eager to kill me.
7 Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down.
8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!
10 I praise God for what he has promised; Yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?
12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
13 For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.
"That's not what I said!"
How many times have you had to say that...because somebody was twisting your words? It's frustrating, but sometimes dangerous as well. When people twist your words it's not always an innocent mistake. Look at David's situation: "I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me...they are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me". In his case, the folks who were twisting his words were doing it with evil intentions. They intended to harm him through slander.
We know that slander is malicious false and defamatory statements against a person. I wonder why somebody would do that...
It seem to me it would be an attempt to diminish a person's reputation so they will no longer be trusted in word or deed. I ask again...why would somebody intentionally do that?
I can think of only one reason: They hate who you are or what you stand for. In order to eliminate any influence you may have over them they cast seeds of doubt...even contempt...about you. It's personally very painful.
A good friend of mine...Charlie...was accused of saying some very ugly things at a chaplains conference. I didn't attend but heard the accusations. I called Charlie and asked him about it. I recall he broke down and wept. He was injured that deeply. Of course, it turned out the accusations were malicious and false. But...there will always be some folks who believe them. Charlie's reputation among those folks has been diminished forever.
"Who cares?" you might ask. They're idiots!
Well, let me put this in context. Charlie has stood for one thing his entire adult life...Jesus Christ. You see where I'm going with this? If Charlie's reputation is diminished his ability to be effective for Christ is diminished. They don't hate Charlie...they hate Jesus.
Even if they don't know it...
This is why I believe we must stand against this sort of evil. We must not tolerate it within the Body of Christ. The next time you hear some malicious gossip...kill it dead on the spot. When you do that you are defending the very Christ who lives in the person who was being slandered.
And remember...when you're slandered...it's not about you.
Even though it's still painful, I remind you of how David responded. He said "I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?"
Live boldly out there today...
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