Sin of Slander

by Christopher Hendrix

The story goes of a young man in a small town who struggled with slander. He went to his town priest and asked what he should do about all the slander he spread. The priest said to place a feather on every front doorstep of the people he defamed. The young man did this and returned to the priest, asking what was next. The priest said to pick up all the feathers and bring them back. The young man left and returned quickly after. He told the priest he couldn’t find one because they all blew away. The priest replied, “So also are your words. You can’t take them back, and now they are all over the place.”

Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on James 4:11-12.

Slander, defamation, and judging tear down people’s reputations, spread like wildfire, and can even destroy a person’s livelihood. This is why civil lawsuits can be filed against those who slander in America. When it hits the church, its poison decays relationships and divides the body. 

James firmly commands us not to speak evil against one another in James 4:11-12. He does this not only because the fruits of this action are rotten but because it is an attack on the Lord Himself. When a person speaks evil and judges another, he/she has done something significant. That person has exalted himself/herself to the level of lawmaker and judge. That person has instituted a different law from God's law. God's law is love, yet slandering and judging stem from a different law, one of hate. The slanderer had made himself out to be a god.

James reveals the root of defamation and judging is idolatry. Is it any wonder that slander is accepted everywhere in a decaying society? The fruit of slander comes from the root of pride. When sin is left unchecked, people’s speech is rampant and uncontrolled. Their hearts spill out of their mouth. 

This has no place in the household of God. Those who would speak lies about another, whether intentionally or in a misunderstanding way, must repent. Those who would judge another’s actions or words that aren’t sinful must repent. A good look at one’s heart must occur in both cases, for those words reveal a more profound pride and idolatrous issue. Along with repentance, belief in the Sovereignty and Lordship of Christ must occur. The heart must bow before the Triune God and turn from what it thinks is right. As James says in 4:12, for who are you?