Proverbs 24.28-29
“Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
You can hurt others by words, or you can protect them by guarding your speech. It is easy to harm another person by gossip or slander or false witness. By doing damage to a person’s reputation or testimony, you can inflict great pain or disadvantage on them. Part of godly wisdom is to be disciplined in what you say, so you do not injure another person through malice or indiscretion.
Legal situations occur where you might be called as a witness for an accident, crime, or a person’s character. Your duty before God and men is to not testify against anyone without cause – there must be a justifiable reason to disclose anything about another person, especially something negative.
If you know private information about a person, keep it to yourself. Private things you know about others are secrets. Talebearers go around revealing secrets, but faithful men conceal them.
“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.” (Proverbs 11.13)
“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a foolish babbler.” (Proverbs 20.19)
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6.16-19)
Note also that the proverb quoted at the top tells not to retaliate if others slander us. Do not get involved in verbal battles with others.
As we all know, our society is being crushed under the weight of toxic gossip, reckless reporting, and inflammatory social media. Many people seem to revel in hurling insults at others via media platforms. It’s a deeply serious problem, and unless it is solved, it will continue to tear at the very fabric of our nation.
