Accusations: The Voice of Malice

August 12, 2012 by J. E. Dyer

Continued from Page 1

This shouldn't surprise us. In the Bible, Satan is called both "the adversary" (Job 1:6-8) of men and our "accuser" (Rev. 12:10). Accusing people as a way of life is evil, period. This makes sense if we remember that God is a God of grace and mercy. He knows everything we do; He of all beings could accuse us up one side and down the other. But He doesn't. The great truth in His universe is not that we sin, but that there is forgiveness and redemption. I increasingly believe that the living generations of our time are appointed to truly "get" that: to internalize and live by the positive, enlarging, expansive power of grace, the power that lifts us above the petty trap of accusation and leaves it in the dust.

Jesus is called our "advocate" (1 Jn. 2:1), the defense attorney who speaks on our behalf. He has already defeated the accuser (Jn. 16:33). We have no excuse for living in an accusatory mode or letting accusatory thoughts rule our minds. We are wise to let God be the keeper of all truth, and to concentrate on the truths He has given us, rather than obsessing like terriers at a rat-hole over truths about others that it's not our job to keep.

We know, after all, what we are supposed to set our minds on: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable," and anything "excellent or praiseworthy" (Phil. 4:8, NIV). These things will endure to the end. There is no two-way street between good and evil: only one will stand. Somehow, I think that at the Last Judgment, if we have good to say about others, if we want to speak of things that are admirable and noble and praiseworthy about them—to those communications, I suspect the God of creation will give an ear.

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About J. E. Dyer

J.E. Dyer is a retired Naval intelligence officer and evangelical Christian. She retired in 2004 and blogs from the Inland Empire of southern California. She writes for Commentary's CONTENTIONS blog, Hot Air's Green Room, and her own blog, The Optimistic Conservative. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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