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No Occasion For Slander - 1Tim 5:14
No Occasion For Slander - 1Tim 5:14
"So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander" (1 Timothy 5:14).
Christians are a unique people in the world. Because of the absolute claims that are made concerning our faith, we become a huge target. Unbelievers constantly look for opportunities to show that 'we are no different' than they. Unfortunately, they often find such ammunition and have a basis for speaking evil of us. Hence, Paul gives this warning in 1 Timothy 5.
Notice that Paul writes of this several times:
· "Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled" (1 Timothy 6:1)
· Wives are "to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled" (Titus 2:5).
· Timothy was instructed to "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us" (Titus 2:8).
While we let our light shine so that people see our good works and glorify God, we draw attention to ourselves and invite inspection. When we fail, it is observed. We must take care how we live before the world.
In avoiding such, we need also to be careful of becoming like them just to avoid their 'criticism'. We are experiencing this on a much higher level today in our country today. There are so many moral issues that we take a stand against.
Paul is not instructing us to become so pliable in our beliefs that we fail to oppose that which is evil. "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (Eph. 5:11). Yet, in our stand against such evil, we must take care NOT to do evil!
An interesting illustration of this is found in the life of Daniel as recorded in Daniel 6. When the King was going to set Daniel over the other officials and satraps, they tried to find a 'ground for complaint' against him. Because of his fidelity to God, they were unable to find such ground to accuse him of. They had the king set a decree that no man could pray except unto the king. Daniel refused change his religion to accommodate the decrees of the king, but remained faithful unto God and continued his practice of prayer.
If by living faithful to God's instructions, we are slandered and persecuted, so be it. Yet, "let no man suffer as an evildoer" (1 Pet. 4:15). Why do people talk about you?
Hugh DeLong
