… so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
Summary: Sometimes people resent good behavior. It makes them look bad by comparison. If they speak maliciously of you, be gentle, and show respect. Keep your conscience clear and leave the rest to the Lord.
Who would do such a thing? Who would stoop so low as to speak maliciously against your good behavior? Sadly, it happens all the time.
Was it someone at work? They thought you were making them look bad, so guess what? They feel the need to “take you down a peg.”
Has someone in your family said things about you? People fight in different ways. I would like to think that if someone had a beef with something I said or did, they would talk to me. But no, that is not always the way it works. Sometimes they go behind your back and work to undermine you.
Have you ever had a conflict with someone in the church? Uh-huh. That doesn’t seem right, does it? Yet it happens. Church conflicts are the worst of all. After all, we are supposed to be following Jesus. Didn’t he say something like “love your enemies?” (Matthew 5: 43-48) If someone thinks of me as an enemy, why would they want to hurt me? The answer has something to do with who they report to. If they are hurting people, they aren’t reporting to Jesus!
So when will these people who speak maliciously be ashamed of their slander? Peter doesn’t say. Ideally, their conscience will convict them immediately. That happens sometimes. Other times it doesn’t happen. Sometimes they carry their anger and ill will to the grave. When that happens, and we all kneel before the Lord (Romans 14: 10-12), some will kneel forgiven, and some will kneel bearing a grudge.
Application: Remember that we serve Jesus, and no one else. If someone speaks maliciously about you, leave the judging to Jesus.
Food for Thought: What possible benefit is there if someone feels ashamed of their slander?
Repentance
Yep! 🙂
I believe Tim sums it up perfectly in one word, “repentance. “. As I was just typing that sentence, another word popped into my mind, “freedom.” I’m going to try to articulate what I am thinking.
As Jeff pointed out, people may be convicted by their conscience for what they did OR they may carry it with them. I believe carrying things with us keeps us in chains. However, when we repent, there is immediate forgiveness from Jesus and with repentance comes freedom. We do not have to continue carrying our poor behavior with us. There is also freedom in not worrying about what others are doing or how they are performing when we realize Jesus is only concerned with us and our actions.
Darla,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts this morning! Repentance and freedom go hand in hand. That is a great point!
Thank you all. Good devotion and excellent comments as well. Hopefully is someone feels ashamed of their slander, believer or unbeliever, it will lead to repentance. And repentance does lead to freedom. Well said by both Tim and Darla. Godly sorrow leads to repentance which leads to life (including abundant life that is freedom). Acts 11: 18; 2 Corinthians 7: 10.
Thanks Rich!
I linked your references to Biblegateway.com for anyone who wants to read them. Salvation and life. Two different ways of saying the same thing.
Thank you Jeff. I always love it when you link things up for me. It makes it just a click away instead of dropping everything and grabbing my bible to look it up. Or me forgetting to look it up.
At your service my friend! 🙂
We may have more of a unified nation,..
I was taught not to rob anyone of their blessing,..so if I am offered something from someone I am not to turn it down,..regardless if I need it or not,..not receiving it would rob them of their blessing,..kind of slanderous,..no benefit for each other
Yesterday while picking up posts to keep my guys working,..my supplier blessed me with five Trump 2020 hats,..now I don’t wear the kind of hats he gave me but that wasn’t stopping me from robbing him of his blessing,..regardless if I am a Trump supporter or not,..I told my wife about the hats and that’s when I got a slanderous look,..
It is sad what politics have done to us here in America,..and in the home,..I told my wife that I don’t agree with either party,.. so I will be writing in Jesus Christ for my President this year,..mark my words,..and there is no secret here about it,..God wins! That’s the only benefit that can come from anything we say to each other,..
Stay safe and keep smiling in Christ,..
Thank you John. I’m a proud Christ supporter too!
John,
I personally take a lot of comfort in what you say. Knowing that “God wins” helps make sense of the insanity of the times. I have been praying for God to restore this nation to a Christian nation and I am amazed at how everything seems to be pointing to God’s hand doing just that.
The Bible teaches that conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, and is God’s way of inviting believers to restore fellowship with Him as well as calling non believers to Him. This conviction shows each what we have done wrong, what must be done to correct the wrong, and the consequences of continuing to live in sin.
All believers should pray the Holy Spirit will reveal the areas in our lives He finds displeasing, and allow Him to guide us so that we can have a clear conscience and restored relationship with our Lord.
We should also be praying for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will bring non believers to Christ through repentance and turning from sin.
Amen!
Great post and read the comments as well. I think what I find hard myself, is when the slander is legit. Feeling that right now, not quite sure what to do with it, lol, trying to bring it to Jesus as best as I can.
NMOP3PISdn,
I find that the foot of the cross is a great place to leave that kind of baggage.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Sometimes the hard part is believing that He can actually do what he says he will do. 🙂
👍🏻