Scripture

Deuteronomy 17:6 NLT

Never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses.

Consider

Accusations leveled against others are always serious business. God’s law protected innocent people from wrongful condemnation by requiring the testimony of more than one witness.

We can take this warning to a personal level and realize that we often accuse people with only our own perceptions to guide us. Unfortunately, these perceptions are subject to a number of influences—many of them unintentional or even unconscious—that can distort our opinions and memories of an event.

Our perceptions may be unreliable for the following reasons:

• We don’t have all the facts of a situation.
• We presume to know a person’s secret thoughts and motives.
• We are biased by our personal history with this person.
• We instinctively rearrange the facts to cast ourselves in the best possible light.
• We are blind to our own guilt in a conflict.
• We feel personally threatened or attacked and react defensively.
• We filter our perceptions through emotions such as jealousy, mistrust, dislike, or hurt.
• We are still suffering from a previous offense.
• We are unwilling to see the good in this person.

God’s warning should motivate us to examine ourselves carefully before we accuse someone of wrongdoing and especially before we share those accusations with others.

Pray

Heavenly Father, I have been guilty of leveling false accusations against others because my perceptions were limited and faulty. Forgive me for the harm I have caused because I put too much faith in my own opinions. Give me patience to wait and not rush to judgment, and teach me the merit of holding my tongue. Search my heart and expose my motives for accusing others unfairly.

Reflect

Proverbs 12:17-19; Ephesians 4:25

Ponder

When has someone accused me unfairly? What would I like to say to my accuser?