What does the bible say about slander? I have recently been slandered by someone, by one of the customers at my work. I do believe it maybe a relative’s ex-husband’s girlfriend. His girlfriend or whoever she is is going around calling me a lesbian, something that I am not. I do not believe in homosexuality, because the Bible says it is wrong. The lie told about has spread and everyone thinks I am a lesbian. How can I tell them that this person lied about me? It is hard to believe someone would ruin an innocent persons reputation for something that is not true about them. Please give me some good advice.
Answer
Whether or not this is good advice may be questionable. Beyond what is directly stated in scripture, any advice is just opinion.
The Bible doesn’t actually say a lot about slander. It talks about the report of the men sent to spy out Canaan as being a slander against the land. (Numbers 13:32; 14:36) It says that one who utters slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18) Other passages talk about lying, which may or may not be a form of slander. In general, the Bible condemns lying and says that liars are under the law the same as murderers, pimps, and kidnappers. (1 Timothy 1:10)
Knowing that slander is a sin, though, doesn’t seem to help much in your situation. King David was in a similar situation. His response was that he would trust in God to correct the situation and punish the slanderers. Read Psalm 31 for his comments about how he dealt with being slandered.
The problem with slander is that it is impossible to call back once it is out. There are those who will believe it, and even spread it further. Really, all you can do about it is to live in such a way that nobody will believe what others say when they slander you. That is one of the main themes of the book of Titus, especially Titus 2:1-8.
You can tell people that they are lies. Unfortunately, it is hard to prove that you are not a lesbian, because all anyone has is your word about it, just as all they have is the other person’s word that you are.
The other thing you could consider would be legal action. That, however, may be costly, and slander is one of the more difficult crimes to prove. It is usually not worth the effort unless you have been seriously financially hurt by it, which is why many get away with it. That is something you would have to talk to a lawyer about.