God hates slanderers. They are scoundrels and villains with hidden hatred in their hearts and deceit in their mouths.

Some people have turned slander into a fine art. They would never use a meat cleaver to cut down another person. They are shrewder “hit men” than that. They have learned to slander with a gesture, a wink, or an evil smile.

Jonathan Swift, who knew well the ugliness of slander, described a man who could “convey a libel in a frown and wink a reputation down.” And Robert Louis Stevenson noted, “The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” When someone is attacked in a conversation, the listeners can join the mugging with a nod.

The writers of the Proverbs described people in the ancient world who used their body language to destroy others. They winked, motioned, or gave a shrug to work their slander, and they felt safe in their attacks. After all, it is difficult to refute a gesture or to prove evil in a wink. Their actions were subtle, but as deadly as bullets piercing the heart.

Do you need to ask the God of love and truth to help you guard your speech and gestures today? Then for His sake, for your own sake, and for the sake of others, do it!

  — Haddon W. Robinson