Responding Wisely When Falsely Accused, Part 2

Bill Meyer: The Bible tells us that the tongue is capable of inflicting wounds that cut far deeper than any sword. And when those words aren’t true, the pain can feel absolutely unbearable. Today on *Insight for Living*, Chuck Swindoll continues our journey through the book of Job, arriving at a moment when Job, already broken by unimaginable loss, must now defend himself against a torrent of false accusations. In Job chapters 20 and 21, Chuck draws four powerful principles straight from Job’s response. Principles you’ll want close at hand the next time someone’s tongue turns against you.
Chuck Swindoll: Truth has a way of vindicating wrong. And I think Job turns to it when he answers Zophar. I don’t think it’s always appropriate that you just sit silently and get beat up by the tongue of liars. Job doesn’t. I mean, you don’t read, "Then Job answered... whatever." That’s not there. You don’t see that. "Okay, shoot." No. Job answers him. Listen to what Job says. You've got to admire the guy's covered with boils. I mean, he’s sick, he’s fevered, he’s swollen, he’s hurting, he’s grieved. He says to Zophar, look at these, verse 2: "Listen carefully to my speech." So you listen for a change. I added that "for a change," okay? That’s just a little addition there. You listen. In fact, I like the way he put it, "Let this be your way of consolation." Since words aren’t, maybe silence will be. You listen. So, listen up. Secondly, "Bear with me." That suggests patience. By the way, there it is again. People who spread lies against you aren’t good listeners and they aren't patient. And Job knows that. And he says, "I want you to do something different. I want you to listen, and I want you to be patient as you reason your way through what I want to tell you." "That I may speak; then after I have spoken, you may mock." Isn’t that good? One of my sources said he called this a sarcastic imperative in the Hebrew. That’s a good way to put it. Go ahead and mock after I'm done, but at least give me my day, give me my moment in court. You listen and you patiently work this through and reason your way through this, and then you can mock on. "As for me, is my complaint to man? Or why should I not be impatient? Look at me and be astonished." There’s the third command. Listen, patiently bear with me, and look in my eyes. Look in my face. In fact, look at how he says it: "Put your hand over your mouth." I think by now they’re sort of lecturing into space. They’re not wanting to look at him. Job says, "You look at me. You say what you have to say to my face." Which false accusers don’t do. They go around us. They go behind our back. They go to people who are weak and gullible and willing to listen to lies, and then they infect them with their verbal germs. And Job says, "You’ve talked. Now listen. You reason with me. You look at me." Now what’s Job going to say to them? He’s going to answer all three points. Listen carefully. First, he’s going to say, often the wicked do live long lives. Just because a person doesn’t know God doesn’t mean they die when they’re 20. Or doesn’t mean they go through some horrible suffering because they’re wicked. And he gives examples of that. We’ll get there. Second, he says their pleasures are not always temporary. Listen, some who are lost get great jobs, earn a gob of dough, have multiple homes and many women or many men, have luxurious cars and sleep around and live wild and don’t die till they’re 90. I mean, their pleasures are not always temporary. So where do you get off saying that, Zophar? That’s not true. And death comes to everybody, and it doesn’t always fall hard on the wicked. Some die in a pretty good state of mind. Now, what follows is awful, but in life, the point is in life, the things you’re saying, Zophar, don’t square with fact. Look at verse 7: "Why do the wicked still live and continue on, also become very powerful?" See, he’s building his case. Zophar, you say that the wicked don’t live long. Well, how do you explain those that continue and become, in fact, powerful? And talk about their lifestyle. Look at that. He describes it: "Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God on them." Look outside. "Even the ox mates without fail, and cows calve and they don’t abort. They send forth their little ones like the flock; their children skip about. They sing to the timbrel and the harp; they rejoice at the sound of the flute. They spend their days in prosperity." It doesn’t look grim to me. In fact, you may wonder if they really don’t know God. Don’t doubt it. Verse 14: "They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.'" And I want you to know, Zophar, look at the end of verse 16: "The counsel of the wicked is far from me." I’m not in that category. I’m sick. Nobody knows why I’m sick, but I’m sick. And it’s a mystery, but I’m not wicked. And furthermore, the wicked don’t necessarily die young. Just because there's God not gotten, they don't have God in their lives doesn't mean that they go to an early grave. And now that we're on the second, where's proof that they suffer calamity, that they always suffer calamity? Verse 17: "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their calamity fall on them?" See how he’s reasoning? "Does God apportion destruction in His anger? Are they as straw before the wind, or chaff which the storm carries away?" This is poetry, remember. You say, "God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons." Let God repay him so that he may know it. Verse 22: "Can anyone teach God knowledge, in that He judges those on high? One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and satisfied." And he’s not eaten up with disease. "His sides are filled out with fat." Isn’t that an interesting way to put it? "The marrow of his bones is moist." And then on the other hand, there are people who die who are bitter of soul and never taste anything good. "Together they lie down in the dust." Job is saying to Zophar, your argument doesn’t hold water. There are examples on the other side. Let me show you a verse you may have never seen before. Look at Ecclesiastes 8:11. I learned this verse years ago and it often comes to mind when I get to subjects like this. Ecclesiastes 8:11. Look at this verse. It's in the Old Testament, in case some of you are not quite there. Take it. "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly." Look at that. "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil." Well, what does that mean? It means because every time a person does wrong, he’s not judged or a victim of calamity, he decides, "I can do that again. I can do more of that." "Although a sinner," verse 12, "does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly." I mean, here's a guy that does it a hundred times, lengthens his life. We need to get out of our mind the stereotyped picture of the lost person. Some of the lost live better than many of us could imagine, and they die better than any of us could imagine. Because they're lost doesn’t mean they’re therefore in this life finished or in a calamitous journey. That comes after life. That comes in the ultimate. Our good news is about life beyond. It does not mean you believe in Christ and suddenly you’re affluent, or suddenly you’ve lost everything. We have it mixed up. We got our theology sort of screwed up around our lifestyle or our preference or our prejudices, as if the wealthy can never be godly or the poor can never be wicked. That’s Zophar’s problem. "I mean, look at you, Job. Look at the condition you’re in. You obviously got sin in your life. You just haven’t told us." Because the wicked live suffering, and Job says, "Now wait a minute. It’s not true." There are times that the wicked live very prosperously. He describes it when he talks about death, verse 30: "For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity; they will be led forth in the day of fury." That’s the ultimate. "Who will confront him with his actions? Who will repay him for what he has done?" Now, watch the funeral service of the wicked while he is carried to the grave. "Men will keep watch over his tomb. The clods of the valley will gently cover him. Moreover, all men will follow after him while countless ones go before him." Listen to the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases that: "Have you ever asked world travelers how they see this? Have you not listened to their stories of evil men and women who got off scot-free, who never had to pay for their wickedness? Did anyone ever confront them with their crimes? Did they ever have to face the music? Not likely. They’re given fancy funerals with all the trimmings, gently lowered into expensive graves with everyone telling lies about how wonderful they were." You’ve seen it. Zophar, you’ve missed it with me. I’m not in that category. You’ve got it simplified to the point of being simplistic. Wicked or righteous, some die well-heeled, some die bitterly and in anguish. And look at his final summation of Zophar’s counsel, verse 34: "How then will you vainly comfort me? Your answers remain full of falsehood." That’s saying it straight. And I’m suggesting that kind of truth needs to be said to people who are poor in falsehood in our heads. The word "falsehood," by the way, in the Hebrew means treachery or fraud. Your answers remain full of treachery. They can’t be counted on. It’s not as you have falsely accused me of being. You need truth, and you’re not hearing it and you’re not saying it. Now, you’ve so patiently set through this. Well, most of you. You have set patiently through this and you’ve listened to Zophar and you’ve listened to Job’s answer. Now I want to talk with you. I want to offer you four lingering principles you can live by when you’re falsely accused. Here are some guidelines that I learned from Job. There are four. And following each principle is a little two-word suggestion, okay? Here’s the first principle: Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic. Listen to what is being said, considering the character of the critic. And the two-word counsel on this, right after it, parenthesis: stay calm. You’ll be tempted to jump in and rashly say things that you’ll later regret. Stay calm. Listen. Second: Respond with true facts, knowing the nature of your accuser. Respond with true facts, knowing the nature of your accuser. Frankly, it may be a former husband, former wife. It may be a former boss, it may be a former employee, maybe a neighbor, maybe a pastor. Doesn’t matter who it is. The point is, if you are being accused, you need to have true facts. So my two-word counsel here is: speak truth. Don’t just react, or you’ll come off just like the accuser. Speak truth. David prayed in Psalm 26, "Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my integrity." Abraham Lincoln was told that he needed to fire the Postmaster General back in July. The letter he wrote was dated July 18, 1864. And so he writes Secretary Stanton this letter saying he’s not going to do it because it’s based on hearsay, and then he makes this statement: "Truth is generally the best vindication against slander." Isn’t that good? Stay with truth. Don’t exaggerate it. Don’t pad it. Don’t hesitate. Respond with true facts, accurate information. Number three: Use examples that represent reality and balance. Use examples that represent reality and balance. That’s what Job did. Trusting your defense to the Lord. Use examples that represent reality and balance, trusting your defense to the Lord. Parenthesis: lean hard. I understand. I have been accused of things. It has kept me awake. It has made my stomach churn. It has taken away my appetite. I have found myself at times thinking, "I’m not going to pay any attention to it," and that’s all I can talk about. "I’m not going to pay any attention to what’s being written," and I memorize it. "I’m not going to worry about it," and I pass it on to somebody else what’s being said. And I am not leaning hard. I need examples that represent reality and balance, and then I need to lean on God to see me through it. If truth is truth, and it is, then He will honor it. And ultimately, truth will win out. Four: Refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you. Refuse to let the accusations discourage and derail you, remembering they are nonsense and lies. They are nonsense and lies. Parenthesis: get tough. Remember that old line from the Revolutionary War: trust in God, but keep your powder dry. I mean, you lock your door at night. You trust God, but you turn on your alarm. You get in your car, you lock your doors, don’t you? You roll up your windows, don’t you? If you don’t, you’re dumb. You’re playing with fire. You say, "I’m going to trust God, but I’m going to ride around this back alley in a convertible." Yeah. A lot of folks are like that. There’s got to be balance here. Don’t be afraid of harsh examples. Job uses some. Don’t be afraid of very specific, strongly stated examples. I read this past week of a physician father who is in Paraguay. Several years ago, he stood against the military regime there that was corrupt, which was also interwoven with the law enforcement, and he spoke on human rights abuse. And he spoke openly and he exposed it. Listen to what happened. The local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son, torturing him to death. Enraged, the townspeople wanted to turn the boy’s funeral into a huge protest march. The doctor father said, "No, we’ll do something else to protest." At the funeral, true story, the father displayed the son’s body as he had found it in the jail. For all to see. Naked, scarred from the electric shocks, cigarette burns, beatings, and stabbings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on a blood-soaked mattress from the prison, exactly where he found the boy. It was the strongest protest imaginable. It put injustice on grotesque display. That’s exactly what God did with Christ at the cross. That’s exactly what He did. He didn’t put a white bedsheet around Him and say, "No, no, it’s too hard for you to look at that." He didn’t have Him crucified in a basement somewhere so people wouldn’t see. He was on a hill. Hanging there. Dying. Finally limp. Gray. Dead. And it was impacting. And that cross is still impacting all who will look and live. Because He used a very harsh, realistic example to convey His message. Look at it. In your mind, picture it. Any other kind of information is empty and full of nonsense. Let me say to you who are going through a time of false accusation, may God strengthen you in it. May God hold you close through it. May God give you wisdom in responding to it. May He become real and personal to you, even giving you songs in the night and quiet rest as He defends you. And let me say to you who are spreading rumors and lies and slander on someone else, there is nothing more treacherous you could be doing in the family of God than that. Nothing. You hurt the body. You disease the church. You ruin, you ruin the testimony of Christ. There’s nothing the lost world loves to hear and see more than infighting in the family. And before we cluck our tongues at Zophar and Bildad and Eliphaz, we better do some soul-searching. "Search me, O God," says David. "Try me, know my thoughts. See if there be any," the Hebrew says, "any way of pain within me." Isn't that good? Any way of pain. My bringing pain to someone. And then lead me in the way everlasting. Let’s bow together. Such a searching time in this old book. Job may be old, but he’s certainly relevant. For you who have been crippled by false information and hurt and sometime even humiliated, may God give you strength from this message. And for you who don't know Christ, may the message of the cross minister to you personally. Right where you're sitting, you can turn your life over to the Savior by faith, putting your hand in His, taking His life in place of your shame and sin and failure. You can know what it is to be forgiven fully, fully redeemed. Thank You, Father, that this is a place where shame and grace can meet. Thank You for the cross. It’s still that old message that sets the captive free. Thank You for a man who would record from his journal even things as personal as this, such insulting comments, such humiliating words. Thank You for his storied endurance, his courage, his strength of character. Thank You that he didn't just sit back and let the lies run on, but he became Your spokesman, which guides us even as late as the 21st century in time. Now, Lord, may we be dismissed with the reminder that You are for us, and therefore who can be against us? He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? We exult in this Your grace. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and powerful Master and Savior we pray. Everyone said, amen.
Bill Meyer: Romans 8:32 says, "He who spared not His own Son, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?" If you’re walking through a season of false accusation right now, those words are for you. Job’s story reminds us that God sees what others distort. He knows what others deny. And He will not abandon those who trust Him with the truth. You’re listening to *Insight for Living*. Chuck Swindoll titled today’s message "Responding Wisely When Falsely Accused." As much as we might try, we can’t dismiss the raw authenticity of Job’s story. It’s not just a distant parable, something tragic that happened to someone else, somewhere else, a long, long time ago. We know it’s relevant because we’ve been there. We’ve been wounded by friends and those we love. Their words are like arrows that pierce our heart and destroy our confidence. Here’s what Chuck Swindoll wants you to know. Job was a real man. His heartbreaks were real heartbreaks. And the God who met him in the pain of it all is the same God who is present in yours. That’s the message in a powerful book Chuck wrote, *Finding God When the World’s on Fire*. It’s not a book for people with tidy lives; it’s a book for the rest of us. And it’s our gift to you when you include a contribution to support the ministry of *Insight for Living*. Just go to insight.org/donate. Or address your contribution and request for the book to Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034. You can also call us at 800-772-8888. Before we go, I want to let you know that Chuck Swindoll recently sat down with his friend Pastor Greg Laurie for an unfiltered conversation about their lives and ministry. To hear and see the entire interview between Chuck and Greg, stop by this webpage: insight.org/conversations. That’s insight.org/conversations. I’m Bill Meyer. Join us again when Chuck Swindoll continues his comprehensive study on the life of Job, Monday on *Insight for Living*.