Slander Is A Bad Thing

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Today's passage is a simple command, yet it is one of the most difficult ones to follow because it is hard to control our tongues and very tempting to talk about other people. We make excuses or simply loss ourselves in idle gossip and talk because we find it entertaining and fun to focus on other people's faults and flaws. But in today's passage, James tells us not to slander for we are taking the place of a judge and making judgments when we have no right to do so. He's right when he says this because who are we to ridicule, gossip, or talk about someone's character and faults when we are incredibly flawed ourselves. We find it easier to find the faults and flaws in other people rather than looking inward in ourselves. James is right when he says that there is only one who is our Lawgiver and Judge, the most perfect being who has every right to save us or cut off us down. Our hearts need to be filled with love and compassion for those who stumble and sin because as fellow sinners, we should understand how difficult it is to resist our evil desire and sinful nature. So instead of cutting each other down with hurtful words of judgment and gossips, we should encourage one another and support each other with our words.