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Have you ever been "defamed", mistreated?
Has someone ever lied about you? Mistreated, or made false accusations to "defame" your character?
If so, you are not alone! Many others before you have also! They have been "defamed" and mistreated!! Some worse than
others. But, "all in all", they have all felt the hurt and pain (i.e. "sting") of what lies can do!
In fact personally, I have experienced the pain and damage of what lies and false accusations can do!
It just does not "feel good". And how could it? Another person slandering you, just to ruin your reputation? And (or)
cause you pain?
The pain and scars that others can cause from these things can be great! They can run deep. They can even cause us
to "isolate" ourselves from the world around us!
And they can leave us with feelings of "helplessness" and feeling "alone". While those who "defame" us are out spreading
their "venomous" lies!
You see I know, all too well, how much it hurts. To have others say false things about you, for no justifiable reason!
But we have to realize something in this. We have to see something in this kind of suffering. You see, even though
it may hurt us deeply and we may "feel" alone, we are in fact not alone at all!
In fact, our Savior, knows better than anyone else!!
You see Jesus knows what it feels like to be "defamed". To have false accusations made. To be hurt by the lies of
others. To be "slandered":
"Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and
mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub,
the ruler of the demons.”
(Matthew 12:22-24 NKJV)
"Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained,
saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
(Luke 15:1-2 NKJV)
In fact they went beyond just slandering Him, and plotted how they might murder Him:
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought
to kill Him."
(John 7:1 NKJV)
And even His own brothers mocked Him:
Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here
and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while
he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did
not believe in Him."
(John 7:2-5 NKJV)
In fact Jesus knew so very well, what was to be mistreated! Truly in history, can no one claim they have been more "defamed",
than He was!
And it's still going on to this day! Well over a thousand years later!! He is still being "defamed"!!! As the world continually
mocks, ridicules and "misquotes" Him!!!!
Throughout history no one can claim such "defaming" as Jesus can! Nor has anyone ever been mistreated as badly as He
has been!!
Just think about it! Jesus, the very Son of God. Our Savior, suffered awfully. In fact at the lowest time in His
life, He was treated even worse:
"And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and
the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and
sat with the servants to see the end.
Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony
against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.
But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy
the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”
And the high priest arose and said to Him,
“Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high
priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the
Son of God!”
Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses?
Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?”
They answered and said, “He is
deserving of death.”
Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the
palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”
(Matthew
26:59-68 NKJV)
"Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and
elders, He answered nothing.
(Matthew 27:11-12 NKJV)
"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around
Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it
on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail,
King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked
Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."
(Matthew 27:27-31 NKJV)
Even while they were crucifying Him on the cross they gave Him no peace! They just "kept on":
"And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and
build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Likewise
the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is
the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him
now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
(Matthew 27:39-43 NKJV)
They kept "tormenting" Him.
And no one can sympathize with us like He can!
Imagine Jesus, the very son of God. The one who came to give His life for the whole world! And what happened? The world
He came to save mistreated, abused, and murdered Him! Yet, He forgave them. And gave them (and all of us) the chance, the
choice, to become children of God!
So how do we handle this? How do we handle our own "defaming"? What should we do?
Well first of all, it does no good to get upset and dwell over it. In fact it will ony hurt us if we do:
"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not
fret—it only causes harm."
(Psalm 37:8 NKJV)
And we should remember that as children of God. that He NEVER forsakes us! NO MATTER what the world may try and
tell us:
"For the LORD loves justice,
And does not forsake
His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But
the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off."
(Psalm 37:28 NKJV)
And He sees what is going on! How others mistreat and defame us. NOTHING escapes His sight:
"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him
to whom we must give account."
Just as King David said:
"But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He
is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;
He
shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because
they trust in Him."
(Psalm 37:39-40 NKJV)
You see it NEVER feels good to be "knocked down" by others. It can be painful! Make us upset!! And we can become
angry. But we should never let anger get us into trouble:
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give
place to the devil."
(Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV)
And we ARE NOT alone! No matter, what it feels like, the truth is, Our savior has been there before!!
And many others before us have also!!! The question for all of us in this. Are we able to still love those who hurt us?
Or are we going to hate them?
You see we are called to love our enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
(Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV)
And it's a hard "thing" (so to speak), to love those that have hurt, and mistreated us! Especially if they continue too!!
But this is what we, as believers, are called to do!!!
And what is it to really love?
Paul the apostle said it best:
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a
clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long
and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek
its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
(1 Corinthians 13:1-7 NKJV)
And Jesus loved us this way did He not? He loved us before we ever accepted His love, grace and forgiveness! Even
when we wanted nothing to do with Him!! And we kept sinning against Him!!!
Do we as people, not reject what is good? We sin against Him? But yet He accepts us as His own children! We all have
had some very awful things happen to us. And be assured they have not "escaped" God's eyes (Heb. 4:13, Luke 18:7-8). But yet
we need to remember, that as awful as the things that have happened to us. We also are sinners ourselves! And yet God forgives
us!!
Just as Jesus told us in the parable of the unforgiving servant:
"Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy
times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when
he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay,
his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant
therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master
of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt."
(Matthew 18:21-27 NKJV)
And if God forgives us should we not forgive those who wrong us?
Absolutely!
But if we decide not too, it will come back to "haunt" us:
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he
laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant
fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would
not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they
were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him,
said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have
had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him
to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So My heavenly Father also will do
to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
(Matthew 18:28-35 NKJV)
So rememeber. If God can still love us?! Despite our sins against Him!! And the way that we have treated Him!!! Then
we ought to love and pray for those who hurt us!!!!
And if we find it hard too? Which is especially true of certain situations in which great wickedness is carried out against
us, than we must pray and ask the Lord to give us love for those who hurt us! And it may be hard for us to believe if we have
been hurt badly, but God can help us:
"But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God
all things are possible.”
(mark 10:27 NKJV)
You see we have to look to the Lord for help in these hard situations. It is impossible for us as humans to truly love
those who hurt us. The human inclination is to hold in hurt and carry grudges. In our own resources we can never forgive and
love our enemies as we should! But God is bigger, and His resources are "endless"!!
So if you have been "defamed", mistreated? I would encourage you! Ask the Lord to give you love and forgiveness for that
person!! And pray for them!!! Those who do some of the most wicked things against others, are those who are in the
most need of Christ!
And think about it! As believers most of us cannot imagine doing such awful things to other people? But yet there are those
who do these things every day! Most without any thought of the hurt and pain and damage they cause to others. Let alone the
damage they do to themselves!
So when we think about this. We know that these people are truly in need of God's endless love, grace and forgiveness!!
So if you have been defamed, or mistreated? Ask yourself this. "If God forgives me for my sin, should I not forgive my
neighbor?"
And here's some 'food for thought":
"Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And
they divided His garments and cast lots."
Have you ever been "defamed", mistreated?
Has someone ever lied about you? Mistreated, or made false accusations to "defame" your character?
If so, you are not alone! Many others before you have also! They have been "defamed" and mistreated!! Some worse than
others. But, "all in all", they have all felt the hurt and pain (i.e. "sting") of what lies can do!
In fact personally, I have experienced the pain and damage of what lies and false accusations can do!
It just does not "feel good". And how could it? Another person slandering you, just to ruin your reputation? And (or)
cause you pain?
The pain and scars that others can cause from these things can be great! They can run deep. They can even cause us
to "isolate" ourselves from the world around us!
And they can leave us with feelings of "helplessness" and feeling "alone". While those who "defame" us are out spreading
their "venomous" lies!
And sadly enough the world is more, than willing to believe a lie before they are willing to believe the truth!
You see I know, all too well, how much it hurts. To have others say false things about you, for no justifiable reason
(not that any can be justified of course)!
But we have to realize something in this. We have to see something in this kind of suffering. You see, even though
we may "feel" alone, and it hurts us deeply, we are in fact not alone!
In fact, our Savior, knows better than anyone else!!
He knows what it feels like to be "defamed". To have false accusations made. To be hurt by the lies of others:
"Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and
mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub,
the ruler of the demons.”
(Matthew 12:22-24 NKJV)
"Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained,
saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”
(Luke 15:1-2 NKJV)
In fact they went beyond just slandering Him, and plotted how they might murder Him:
"After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought
to kill Him."
(John 7:1 NKJV)
And even His own brothers mocked Him:
Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here
and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while
he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did
not believe in Him."
(John 7:2-5 NKJV)
In fact Jesus knew so very well, what was to be mistreated! Truly in history, can no one claim they have been more "defamed",
than He was!
And it's still going on to this day! Well over a thousand years later!! He is still being "defamed"!!! As the world continually
mocks, ridicules and "misquotes" Him!!!!
Throughout history no one can claim such "defaming" as Jesus can! Nor has anyone ever been mistreated as badly!!
Just think about it! Jesus, the very Son of God. Our Savior, suffered awfully. In fact at the lowest time in His
life, He was treated even worse:
"And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and
the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and
sat with the servants to see the end.
Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony
against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.
But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy
the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”
And the high priest arose and said to Him,
“Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high
priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the
Son of God!”
Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses?
Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?”
They answered and said, “He is
deserving of death.”
Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the
palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”
(Matthew
26:59-68 NKJV)
"Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and
elders, He answered nothing.
(Matthew 27:11-12 NKJV)
"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around
Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it
on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail,
King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked
Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."
(Matthew 27:27-31 NKJV)
Even while they were crucifying Him on the cross they gave Him no peace! They just "kept on":
"And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and
build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Likewise
the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is
the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him
now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
(Matthew 27:39-43 NKJV)
They kept "tormenting" Him.
And no one can sympathize with us like He can!
Imagine Jesus, the very son of God. The one who came to give His life for the whole world! And what happened? The world
He came to save mistreated, abused, and murdered Him! Yet, He forgave them. And gave them (and all of us) the chance, the
choice, to become children of God!
So how do we handle this? How do we handle our own "defaming"? What should we do?
Well first of all, it does no good to get upset and dwell over it. In fact it will ony hurt us if we do:
"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not
fret—it only causes harm."
(Psalm 37:8 NKJV)
And we should remember that as children of God. that He NEVER forsakes us! NO MATTER what the world may try and
tell us:
"For the LORD loves justice,
And does not forsake
His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But
the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
(Psalm 37:28 NKJV)
And He sees what is going on. How others mistreat and defame us. NOTHING escapes His sight:
"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him
to whom we must give account."
Just as King David said:
"But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He
is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;
He
shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because
they trust in Him."
(Psalm 37:39-40 NKJV)
You see it NEVER feels good to be "knocked down" by others. It can be painful! Make us upset!! And we can become
angry. But we should never let anger get us into trouble:
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give
place to the devil."
(Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV)
And we ARE NOT alone! No matter, what it feels like, the truth is, Our savior has been there before!!
And many others before us have also!!! The question for all of us in this. Is, are we able to still love those who hurt
us? Or are we going to hate them?
You see we are called to love our enemies:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
(Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV)
And it's a hard "thing" (so to speak), to love those that have hurt, and mistreated you! Especially if they continue
too!! But this is what we, as believers, are called to do!!!
And what is it to really love?
Paul the apostle said it best:
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a
clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long
and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek
its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
(1 Corinthians 13:1-7 NKJV)
And Jesus loved us this way did He not? He loved us before we ever accepted His love, grace and forgiveness! Even
when we wanted nothing to do with Him!! And we kept sinning against Him!!!
Do we as people, not reject what is good? We sin against Him? But yet He accepts us as His own children! We all have
had some very awful things happen to us. And be assured they have not "escaped" God's eyes (Heb. 4:13, Luke 18:7-8). But yet
we need to remember, that as awful as the things that have happened to us. We also are sinners ourselves! And yet God forgives
us!!
Just as Jesus told us in the parable of the unforgiving servant:
"Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy
times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when
he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay,
his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant
therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master
of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt."
(Matthew
18:21-27 NKJV)
And if God forgives us should we not forgive those who wrong us?
Absolutely!
But if we decide not too, it will come back to "haunt" us:
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he
laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant
fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would
not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they
were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him,
said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have
had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him
to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So My heavenly Father also will do
to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
(Matthew 18:28-35 NKJV)
So rememeber. If God can still love us! Despite our sins against Him!! And the way that we have treated Him!!! Then we
ought to love and pray for those who hurt us!!!!
And if we find it hard too (which is true of certain situations in which great wickedness is carried out against us),
than we must pray and ask the Lord to give us love for those who hurt us! And it may be hard for us to believe, but God can
help us:
"But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God
all things are possible.”
(mark 10:27 NKJV)
You see we have to look to the Lord for help in these situations. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us as humans to TRULY
love those who hurt us. The human inclination is to hold in hurt and carry grudges. In our own resources we can never forgive
and love our enemies as we should! But God is bigger, and His resources are "endless"!!
So if you have been "defamed", mistreated. I would encourage you. Ask the Lord to give you love and forgiveness for that
person! And pray for them!! Those who do some of the most wicked wrongs against others, are those who are in the most
need of Christ!
And think about it! As believers most of us cannot imagine doing such awful things to other people!! But yet there are those
who do these things every day!!! Most without any thought of the hurt and pain and damage they cause to others! Let alone
the damage they do to themselves!! So when we think about this. We know that these people are truly in need of God's endless
love, grace and forgiveness!
So if you have been "defamed", and (or) "mistreated"? Remember this! Jesus was also!!
And this is what He said:
"Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots."
(Luke 23:34 NKJV)
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