Jesus’ Word to the Wrongly Accused
By Lynette Kittle
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips - Psalm 141:3
Have you ever been wrongly accused? Or had lies spoken or written about you, ones causing you to feel angry, ready to respond by verbally exploding and tearing apart the untrue words?
Social media is all about speaking our minds. It encourages us to “tell it like it is,” to “speak our minds,” to defend ourselves by “setting the record straight.”
However, Scripture gives us a better way of addressing insults and lies, urging us to, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).
God's Word tells us Jesus' reaction to being wrongly accused: “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” - 1 Peter 2:23
When we are wrongly accused, we’re encouraged to ask God to, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).
Whereas the world tells us to “let it all out,” Scripture directs us to use self-control before speaking. Unlike quick, snappy comebacks, Proverbs 10:11 explains how the mouths of the righteous are to be a fountain of life, meaning: rather than putting people in place, our words are to speak life to those around us.
Practicing self-control doesn’t mean we won’t ever confront or address what was said about us. But implementing self-control gives us an opportunity to calm down, weigh possible long-term outcomes from our words, and decide on the most effective way to address a situation.
Self-control also offers us the option of saying nothing in response. Even though today’s culture pushes us to respond quickly, Jesus modeled another way to react. He chose to say nothing in response, and leave the situation in God’s hands. As Matthew 27:12 describes, “When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer.”
Jesus said in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
So, where do we find self-control for our words? Galatians 5:22,23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
Galatians 5:25, assures us if we live by the Spirit, we’ll be able to keep in step with the Spirit. So like Christ displayed self-control with His words, we can apply it to our speech, too.
2 Peter 1:4 explains that we can become partakers of God’s divine nature by choosing self-control to be at work in our lives, helping to guide our responses (2 Peter 1:6)
Have you been wrongly accused? Do you feel the urge to offer a scathing comeback or set the record straight? Take time today to think through a godly response to your pain, and before you respond, pray for the one who hurt you.
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, iBelieve.com, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, Startmarriageright.com, growthtrac.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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