The Odious Sin of Slander

August 31st, 2026
by Lance Waldie

James 4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren.

The verb “speak against” (Gr. katalaleō) refers to slander—a malicious tongue (cf. 3:1-12) driven by jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14; cf. Pss. 41:7-8; 109:3). In James’ context, such slander was occurring among Christians—James specifically addressing Christians in the church, referring to them in v. 11 as “one another,” “brethren,” “a brother,” and “his brother.” Now in light of the fact that “a good name is to be more desired than great wealth” (Prov. 22:1; cf. Eccl. 7:1), to slander another Christian’s good name is quite the heinous sin. Note:

“You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:16).
As to he who will dwell with God in eternity, it is “Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors, or speak evil of their friends” (Ps. 15:3, NLT).
God says, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure” (Ps. 101:5).
“You let your mouth loose in evil and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son” (Ps. 50:19-20)
“He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip” (Prov. 20:19).
Paul lists slanderers among the worst of sinners: “…slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents” (Rom. 1:30, italics mine).

Of course slander originated in Eden (Gen. 3) by Satan, the “devil” (Gr. diabolos) which means “slanderer” (Rev. 12:10). Slandering is thus satanic, not godly. No wonder we are to flee from the devil (Jas. 4:7). Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man” (Matt. 15:19-20). Paul thus wrote, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Eph. 4:31; cf. Col. 3:8; 1 Pet. 2:1).

Slanderers stir up arguments between friends (Prov. 26:20), they spread conflict among peaceful people (6:19), and they can destroy friendships (Prov. 16:29; 17:9). Slander adversely affects its victims with deep emotional wounds (Prov. 18:8; 26:22), even destroying some (Prov. 11:9; Isa. 32:7). It obviously has no place in our churches among Christians.

Food For Thought
There are many examples in Scripture regarding the slander of others and the damage it causes. Ziba, the servant of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, accused his master of plotting to seize David’s throne (2 Sam. 16:3). Though this charge was denied by Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 19:25-27), it hurt his relationship with David. Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, appointed two scoundrels to slander the decent man Naboth, leading to his execution (1 Kings 21:13). Sanballat and Geshem slandered the Jewish exiles along with Nehemiah, falsely claiming they plotted to rebel and make Nehemiah their king (Neh. 6:5-7). Haman, the Persian general of Xerxes, slandered the Jews in order to plot their annihilation (Esther 3:8). After David sought to honor the Ammonite prince Hanun, Hanun slandered him, resulting in in more than forty thousand deaths (2 Sam. 10-12; cf. Ps. 31:13). John the Baptist was slandered as having a demon (Matt. 11:18), as was Jesus (John 8:48), as well as being a drunkard (Matt. 11:19). Also, Paul (Rom. 3:8) was slandered as teaching false doctrine. Slander is just too easy! May we never again succumb to this odious sin.