What To Do When Falsely Accused Series

Now the thing about all this is that NOT ONE THING this slick lawyer said was true. It was a pack of lies-a blatant attempt by the Jewish leaders to silence Paul permanently.

So here was a gross injustice. It wasn't fair for Paul to even be imprisoned. He had been misunderstood, lied about, plotted against and falsely charged.

Imagine how you would feel. I wonder if I would not have gone a little crazy in that courtroom. I can picture myself seething with fury as this snake lied to Felix about me until I jumped up and shouted, "You dirty, sleazy liar! You know that's a pack of lies!"

But Paul does not do this. Luke doesn't tell us exactly how he reacted emotionally during the prosecutor's slick oration, but if I know the Apostle Paul, he had an open and teachable spirit. If he were guilty of even one part of the charges, he would have immediately acknowledged it and sought forgiveness.

Proverbs 15:5 says that "…he that regardeth reproof is prudent."

I think Paul was prudent, so he listened carefully before responding.

And that's the first thing you should do when you feel falsely accused by someone. Our natural inclination is to instantly become defensive when someone accuses us. But if the truth be told, accusations often have at least SOME seed of truth in them, even if they're blown out of proportion.

So, when someone accuses you, before responding, search your heart. See if there is even a GRAIN of truth in the accusation. Ask yourself if you are exhibiting wrong attitudes that might have caused the person to feel justified in making his or her accusation. Ask your spouse, or someone who will be honest and objective, with you to tell you if you have a blind spot in that area.

You know, sometimes an accusation can be the source of GROWTH in an area of our lives if we can just be humble and objective enough to step back and be honest with ourselves, instead of having a knee-jerk reaction caused by a hurt pride.

Once you've had time to reflect on the charges, if there's ANY truth to them, you need to immediately ask forgiveness and make those things right with those involved.

I only remember twice in my 39 years in the ministry when I was falsely accused. One of those times, I felt the accusation was overblown-but had some truth in it. Certain things in my attitude had caused this individual to draw certain conclusions, so I felt that I should admit that part and seek forgiveness. I called him and asked him if we could get together to talk. I told him 95% of what he said was just not true, but a part of it was. I clarified and explained everything and then confessed where I thought I had been wrong, and sincerely asked him to forgive me. He was relieved to know that everything he had thought was not true, and even more relieved that I had sought his forgiveness, rather than retaliation. To this day that brother and I have been in blessed fellowship.

But there was another situation that was entirely different. In this case someone accused me of several absolutely ludicrous charges. Not a single one of them was true-nor was there anything in my attitudes or actions that could have led her to make these accusations. Whether intentional or just blinded by her own personal demons, she took several innocent incidents, made serious false assumptions about them and turned them into daggers of vicious accusations against me. I remember, like Paul, sincerely and honestly examining the charges, searching my heart, asking Susan if I was missing something-and when the dust settled, I knew that this woman was totally off the mark. I was not the problem; SHE was the problem-from start to finish.