No Defense
Scripture Reading - Matthew 27:11-14 KJV
11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
Today we find it quite common for people to accuse other people of doing things that are wrong or questionable. The problem doesn’t stop there but goes even deeper because those same people will also accuse other people of not doing certain things also. It would seem that people who practice accusation are never satisfied with other people who think differently than themselves. Yes, this is a growing problem in society and it has even crept into the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people have heard the term, “If you don’t have anything good to say about another person just keep silent”. This old word of wisdom is truth if you value the Holy Word of God. People are so immature in their thinking because humanity as a whole is very shallow and selfish. It takes deep convictions of the heart to control your tongue and for that reason James 3:8 informs us “The tongue cannot be tamed by man, because it is unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Yes, this is truth whether people like it or not. We all know that it only takes a little poison to kill someone because poison is a high concentration of chemicals designed to kill. Likewise, when people speak unkind and false words to living people it is an attack against that other person’s peace and joy. In other words the person who is quick to spread gossip, discord, evil speaking and evil intentions is fighting against the loving and truthful Kingdom of God. Yes, we (ihlcc) know many born-again believers are clueless when it comes to keeping their tongue. Since many people are focused on self they typically don’t consider how what they are saying will affect the other people they are talking to or about. Yes, the problem today is with social media running twenty-four seven people are talking constantly. Where the abundance of idle words are spoken the presence of sin is forthcoming.-Refer to Proverbs 10:19 It used to be after late evening things (words, social interaction) slowed down tremendously and for many Christians it ceased. However, today is a different day in that people are chatting and texting past mid-night and into the earlier hours of the next day. All this additional conversation is causing many people to be hurt. Yes, the increase of words causes the increase of sin which ultimately causes an increase of hurting people. Cyber bullying was not a huge problem two generations ago because personal information like your phone number or e-mail address were not public information. Today, companies and people exchange your personal information without discretion and certain people who love to hear themselves talk take full advantage of the information they have to threaten and challenge others as often as they want. People who call others out in social media would never dare do that in public because they know it could lead to a physical altercation (a fight). However, whatever I text or tweet or e-mail is OK because I have a right to freedom of speech. This might sound good to loud-mouth people and it could even be popular today but it will never stall strong in God’s sight. No, our faith friend, quite the contrary the Lord doesn’t endorse evil speaking and He never will. Yes, even the slightest intent of hurtful words is condemned by God. Now that we have established the fact that being a busy body in someone else business is wrong it is also important “not to defend yourself” if you are accused by someone else. We notice in today’s scriptures that Jesus did not defend Himself before the governor of the land, Pilate. It was not that He couldn’t speak about the accusations but rather He wouldn’t speak about His own righteousness. Jesus choose not to defend who He was because the Good Lord knew all those who really knew Him already knew who He was and what He was all about. As Christians we must remember to give “No Defense” when someone insinuates that you should be doing something different than what you are doing. Yes, we have all heard the sly remarks of others when they want to take a cheap-shot at us. However, we must be the mature ones and pay it no attention. It is said, “Why should I pay for a criticism when so many are donated to me for free!” What this statement implies is that if you respond to negative words you are essentially paying for them by exchanging your time and energy. When we engage to respond to accusations and meaningless comments we are entertaining evil thoughts, thus giving time and place to the devil. As the elders used to say, “Pay him no never mind”, which essentially means “completely ignore him”. Therefore it is wiser to just ignore vain words and actions by others because that action alone gives no place for the devil to produce strife and division. Yes, God’s Beloved, be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might by claiming “No Dense” from accusation spread against you. For we (ihlcc) do believe the Lord Jesus Christ is our defense against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Plus it is always better to have His defense because He is a much better advocate (personal lawyer for our righteousness) than we could ever be for ourselves. We (ihlcc) heard a wise elder once say, “When people come against me, I simply tell them I am who I am, go and check my record it speaks for itself.” This is exactly what the Lord Jesus told those who came against Him in John 18:19 through 21. Now please in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ go thou and do likewise because you need “No Defense” when you truly believe God is your defense (God’s gotcha back). Amen!