Esther 6-8 Acts 6

“But the Spirit was helping him to speak with wisdom, and his words were so strong that they could not argue with him. So they secretly urged some men to say, ‘We heard Stephen speak against Moses and against God.’” (Act 6:10-11 NCV)

When all else fails, make a false accusation. That seemed to be the plan of the Jewish leaders. There are a number of examples in the Bible where leaders have sought to gain power or get rid of their enemies and the enemies were so righteous that the only way they could accuse them was to make a false accusation. Stephen, having just been called to be a deacon, was an amazing witness for Jesus Christ. Those who were committed to deny Christ were confounded by his message. He confirmed the message by doing signs and miracles. When they realized they were losing every argument, they made false accusations against him leading to his arrest, his trial, and his execution, making him the first Christian martyr.

Integrity is a vital part of the Christian’s life. Part of that integrity is to be sure that we don’t engage in attacks on others based on false accusations. Many of us would do well to avoid attacks on people even when the information is probably true. False accusations, though, spread hatred and distrust. The greater the accusation, the more people will believe it, even when confronted with facts. My job as a Christian is to seek to reconcile people with God. In Rwanda, the reconciliation process has brought about peace and harmony in a land that dealt with a terrible genocide twenty-four years ago. They are a model for any nation that would seek to bring harmony and peace within the nation. Jesus dealt with false accusations and called out forgiveness on those who crucified Him because of those false accusations. Our responsibility as followers of Christ is not to prosecute others based on such accusations, our responsibility is to love, minister, and bring reconciliation to people on all sides of the accusations. The truth is, our ministry extends to people who have been accused rightly as well. When someone is accused of doing something, true or not, take the time to pray for them and their accusers with the idea of allowing God to bring reconciliation.

Lord, You seek reconciliation. You’ve called us to be ministers of reconciliation. Our world is so divided that the only way we’ll have peace is if You bring reconciliation. Use me, use Your Church to reconcile the world unto Yourself.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved