The Terrible Power Of A Traducing Tongue

“An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.”

“A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.” [1]

Life in this modern age has trained us to accommodate the transformation of language. Modern society sees sarcasm used as entertainment; and we admire the sharp put-down of those with whom we disagree. As bad as this trend in contemporary society is—and it is unquestionably wicked, cancel culture has taught us that it is acceptable to silence those with whom we disagree. And the silencing we practise is usually ruthless and deliberately cruel. Hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet, or even hiding behind masks, we imagine that it is acceptable to savage the reputation of others. Even we who follow the Risen Lord of Glory have become masters of traducing, willfully savaging others when we disagree with them.

“Traduce” is a somewhat rare verb that speaks of misrepresenting wilfully the character or conduct of another. Contemporary understanding of the word would convey the thought of defaming, of slandering, of maligning. The tongue that slanders is a traducing tongue. It is like a hidden assassin who shoots his arrows in the dark. We need not wonder at the intensity of the words of Titus Maccius Plautus when he said, “Slander-mongers and those who listen to slander, if I had my way, would all be strung up, the talkers by the tongue, the listeners by the ears.” [2] There is little question about what he thinks of those who assail the character of another.

The traducing tongue steals a good name, which according to the Wise Man is to be chosen rather than great riches [see PROVERBS 22:1]. A man’s name is an expression of himself. To rob a man or a woman of his or her good name is fundamentally to violate the eighth commandment, which commands, “You shall not steal” [EXODUS 20:15].

Truly did Shakespeare write:

Who steals my purse, steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing;

‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him

And makes me poor indeed. [3]

Destroying the reputation of another is a dastardly affair. No follower of the Risen Saviour should ever be found guilty of destroying another through such vile calumny. And yet, it often seems as if we Christians differ little from the world in participating in this vile act of destroying others, even fellow believers.

To traduce one’s good name is like stealing bread from the hungry with no better purpose than to throw it in the sewer. It neither benefits you nor the one traduced. The traducing tongue of slander and gossip is yet the cancer of the social body, the leprosy of the community, the pestilence that walks at noonday, the destruction that wastes at midnight, the hailstorm beating with icy hammers, the flood sweeping away sacred things, the fire that burns to ashes, and the cold that freezes to the marrow.

George Meredith is quoted as having said, “Gossip is a beast of prey that does not wait for the death of the creature it devours.” Surely, it is such destructive power of the tongue that is in view when the Psalmist writes,

“When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.”

[PSALM 27:2]

As Jeremiah speaks on behalf of the Lord GOD, he confronts the slanderous deceit of the people to whom he prophesied, writing, “Thus says the LORD of hosts:

‘Behold, I will refine them and test them,

for what else can I do, because of my people?

Their tongue is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully;

with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,

but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.’”

[JEREMIAH 9:7-8]

The talebearer is a slanderer, a busybody, one who takes up a reproach against his neighbour and spreads it abroad. It is to our eternal benefit to remember that there is a “shall not” with respect to this matter of slander, and we must remember that it is just as binding on us from the Divine point of view as is “You shall not murder” [EXODUS 20:13]. God demands of us, “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people” [LEVITICUS 19:16].

In the Name of God and of holy religion, let everyone who hears my words in this hour covenant with God, and with one another, that we will forever quit all such vile, despicable business. Let us determine that we will restrain our tongue and refrain from speaking ill of anyone, especially avoiding even giving the appearance of thinking ill of a fellow Christian. Surely, this is the intent of the warning that James includes when he writes, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law, and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge” [JAMES 4:11].