“God I thank you that I am not like others—hypocrites and slanderers” (with apologies to Luke 18 v 11).
I’ve been reading through 1 Peter and reached 2 v 1: “Rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” Yes, I struggle with some of these, but, “At least I’m not a slanderer” I thought.
Later that morning, while cycling to work, I was thinking about a recent and very painful situation, and started having a conversation in my head. “I should have said more about…” “Do they realise how unfair that felt?” “That’s not what they said last time – they’ve changed the goal posts.” “They did just the same things to me last year” and so on.
Suddenly I sat up straight. (Well, as much as you can on a racing bike!) Just half an hour earlier I’d been congratulating myself on not slandering people. But here I was doing just that in my head. Traditionally “slander” is spoken. But if the Lord Jesus says we can commit adultery in our hearts (Matthew 5 v 28) then I’m sure we can commit slander in our minds.
So what’s the solution? It’s all too easy when you’re hurt or angry to start thinking horrible things about the people involved. My aim now is that as soon as I catch myself doing so I’ll first ask for God’s forgiveness and help to change; then pray for the people concerned, thanking God for them and asking Him to be working His good purposes in their lives. I’m hoping that will help me be more godly in my thought life.
My only problem with putting this in a blog is that now, when I tell someone I’ve been praying for them, they may start wondering why I’ve been slandering them in my mind…
Alison Mitchell is a Senior Editor at The Good Book Company, where she has worked on a range of products including Bible-reading notes for children and families, and the Christianity Explored range of resources. She is the bestselling author of The Christmas Promise and the award-winning Jesus and the Lions' Den.
