“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. . .” (Matthew 5:11, NKJV).
Gracious God, we thank You that under every circumstance You are with us! Help us to always remember that we have a Friend in You; and may we call upon You with the full assurance that You are “only a prayer away.” In the blessed name of Jesus the Christ we humbly pray. Amen!
Today’s beatitude is very similar to yesterday’s. The main difference is that today’s persecution is verbal. I looked up the word revile and this is what I found:
“To assail with scornful or abusive language; vituperate.” “to address or speak of with contemptuous, abusive, or opprobrious language.” “to use abusive or scornful language against (someone or something).”
Now here are some dictionary definitions of the word slander: “Oral communication of false and malicious statements that damage the reputation of another.” “any false or defamatory words spoken about a person; calumny.” “a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report.”
Note how the words false and malicious are repeated in almost every definition of the word slander. It is very clear that the intention of a slanderer is to do damage. He or she circulate rumors that they know are not true. It is a very malicious act!
This is how the Bible defines speaking evil against others falsely: “In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed” (Ezekiel 22:9). That is how false evil speaking is defined in the Bible – as slander. And note the purpose behind it: to cause bloodshed. The intent is to destroy; to kill. When you put both the manner of the persecution and the intent together, you get a clear picture of who is behind it:
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44. Emphasis provided.).
Perhaps you know someone who lost not only their good reputation but their life as well because someone defamed them. In politics it is referred to as “mud slinging.” Not a few, both men and women have taken their own lives because they felt that there was no way they would recover from the calumny that they had been a victim of. Perhaps you have been a victim of slander yourself. Fear not! Remember, you are in good company. It is the slanderer who has a problem having the devil for a father. Happy are You!