False accusations are as old as sin itself.
In fact, the devil—who is defined as the “false accuser” and “slanderer”—falsely accused God right before the original sin occurred (cp Gen 3:1ff). Nevertheless, this has not stopped humans from frequently imitating Satan in this well-practiced scheme of our evil enemy.
Furthermore, not only do these harmful sins continue to happen, they seem to be on the rise. Yet, for our purposes here, we must understand that false allegations not only enable abuse and prevent justice, they, ironically, can be abusive. Not only that, false accusations are a gross injustice in and of themselves.
Also, just as false accusations of racism hurt the overall goal of addressing actual racism, false accusations of abuse hinder addressing actual abuse (and many other real problems). Sadly, while we know they happen often, it is rare to see consequences given to those who falsely accuse others. This, then, is a major reason for the increase in this egregious and harmful sin.
The lack of consequences enables the accusations to increase and even worsen (e.g., there is no incentive to stop). This, in turn, negatively impacts our collective ability to handle abuse and wrongdoing. Even worse, false accusations greatly harm and damage innocent people (cp Prov 17:15). What is more, these accusations often demonize and destroy some of the very people who are trying to accurately resolve abuse.
Therefore, if we love others, if we truly care—and if we are concerned about wrongdoing and abuse—then we need to have the same concern regarding false accusations as we do for abuse and other atrocious behavior (cp Ex 20:16; 23:7; Prov 6:16-19; 19:5).
On the other hand, if a person is not deeply concerned about false accusations, then he or she is not truly concerned about justice.
To the degree a person participates in false accusations, he or she is, wittingly or not, joining in with the work of the devil himself (i.e., the “false accuser” and slanderer). Furthermore, God demands a weighty punishment for false accusers, as He considers false accusations evil (Deut 19:18-20) and even an “abomination” (Pro 17:15).
We can learn a lot about others, and ourselves—and our concern for true justice and real love—by how we view false accusations and how we respond when they occur.
What would you say about those who might minimize or even complain about the concern over false accusations?
What would you say to those who personally attack—and falsely accuse—those who take false accusations seriously?
Some Biblical examples of those who were falsely accused:
- Joseph (Gen39:7ff)
- Elijah (1 Kgs 18:17-18)
- Naboth (1 Kgs 21:13)
- Jeremiah (Jer 32)
- Stephen (Acts 6:13)
- Jesus (Lk 23:20-25)
This is a chapter from our book on why sin and abuse is not handled well in the Church, abbreviating this overall harmful and all-too-common practice inside and outside of the Church.
Failure To Protect: Why Sin & Abuse Is Not Handled Well In The Church
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