Have you ever been the victim of slander? I am sure the answer is yes! We all have been the victim of slander and sometimes the starter of it! Be honest! Tell the truth and shame the devil! No judgment zone here because I have slandered people. But I am not here to talk about that. What I am here to talk about is how to help you overcome slanderous attacks against you. If you have been the victim of slander, this post is for you!
First and foremost let's define slander. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, slander is the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation. One of the enemy's tactics against us is to assassinate our name and character through lies and false allegations. The King James version of bible says a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches (Proverbs 22:1). The New Living Translation of the bible uses the word reputation instead of name. Therefore, having a good reputation is important. It is essentially needed because our reputation= our credibility. We need a good name. We need a good reputation.
The enemy knows this. So what does he do?! He attempts to destroy them through slander. If you are progressing in any area of your life, expect to get slandered. Your enemies hate your progress. They despise your success. Your good news is bad news to them. So there weapon of choice is to bring you down through slander. Nobody knows this better than King David in the bible. If you read the book of Psalms you will find many chapters where he is praying to God about being slandered by his enemies. What I learned from him and reading those chapters is to never respond to your enemies' vicious lies and attacks against you. Don't refute one single word they say! Let God do it! Let him defend your name and reputation!
I know this is hard to do and let me just say you are not always going to do it. It is natural to want to defend yourself against negative or evil words spoken against you. But my job today is to help you not do that! Understand, slander is an evil spirit and the people that operate in it need deliverance not a good cussing out! Okay, let's talk about what you should do when you get slandered!
1. If you are getting slandered, that means you are progressing! The devil hates when we progress. So take being a slandered as a good sign! That means you are doing something right. Rejoice!
2. Upon hearing you have been slandered, don't respond....PRAY!!! Let me reiterate this again, DO NOT RESPOND....PRAY! Don't defend yourself. I know that's the natural thing to do, but cussing out your accusers will not diffuse the situation. When people lie you on and talk about you it's not your job to defend yourself. It's God! So let them talk. Don't refute what they say. Be like Nehemiah and stay on the wall and keep building! Keep doing you. Pray and let God defend your name and reputation. PRAY! Here is an awesome prayer that I recommend you pray daily http://pureglory.net/2013/11/09/thank-god-for-your-enemies-prayer/.
3. Yes, you have a right to be angry! Yes, what they are saying about you are bald face lies! Yes, it causing you to lose money or have issues in your personal and business relationships. Yes, they need to be dealt with. But don't you deal with them! The bible says be angry, but SIN NOT. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't react immaturely. Pray and get a strategy from God on what to do. But until He tells you what to do, BE QUIET!
4. After you pray and calm down, find what God says in His word about how to react to slander. Because I love you so much, I found some scriptures for you:
Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you will be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. 1 Peter 3:16
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Matthew 5:11-12
When we are slandered, we answer kindly. 1 Corinthians 4:13
I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. Rescue me, O LORD, from liars and from all deceitful people. Psalms 120:1-2
Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. Psalms 54:5
5. Read and mediate on those scriptures. Speak them! Write them down! Get those words in your heart! For a good bible study, read Psalms 109.
6. Pray for your accusers! That's right! Pray for them and not against them. The people who slander you are pawns of the enemy. They need deliverance and prayer. So follow Jesus' command and pray for your enemies! The more you pray for them, the easier it will be for you to forgive them.
7. Last, be kind to your accusers! If you are forced to deal with your accusers, don't be mean to them or try defend yourself. God said vengeance belongs to Him! So smile at them. Bless them. Pray for them. God will judge them and defend your name!
AND THIS IS HOW YOU DEAL WITH SLANDER!!!!
Okay, need some more help? Watch these videos