Not Knowing
A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. Psalm 101:4-5 ESV
Slanders – David declares that he will have nothing to do with evil. Lo ra eda says the text (verse 4). “Evil I will not know.” But of course he will “know” evil. It’s simply impossible to live in this broken world and not “know” evil. David cannot mean that he will be unaware of evil. What he means is that he will not know evil experientially. He won’t get involved with it. He won’t participate in it.
Ah, we all applaud. “Yes, that’s right. We won’t do anything evil.” That sounds noble. That sounds praiseworthy. The problem is that this high moral commitment is worthless without simple action steps. Principles without application are no more valuable than political promises without follow through. They sound so good but nothing ever changes.
King David knows that there must be action application. What does it mean to have nothing to do with evil? It means to destroy those who secretly slander a neighbor. Slander is lashon ha’ra, the evil tongue. Read Psalm 52. More damage is done by words than by tactical nukes. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death are in the tongue. When the Lord returns, lashon ha’ra will no longer be found among men (Zephaniah 3:13). Almost nothing is more detestable to God than the misuse of speech. Perhaps that’s because God’s own speech brings life into being. The power of the word must not become a vehicle for death. David gives us one clear application of what it means to avoid evil. Put to an end, cut off, destroy those who slander. The verb is tsamat. It means to consume, wipe out, completely silence. What should I do in the face of lashon ha’ra? I should completely destroy it. David doesn’t tell us how that is to be done. He just makes it clear that we have an obligation to wipe it out. If you will have nothing to do with evil, then you cannot sit by while someone else is being slandered.
Some things to note. First, the slander is unknown to the neighbor. It is secretly spoken. You know about it but the victim doesn’t. Does that remove your obligation? Not in the least. In fact, this is the reason to wipe out the evil words. The victim is being harmed without even knowing. You and I must rise to the defense. Secondly, we should note that it would be very easy to simply walk away. “I won’t have anything to do with this” can be converted into “It’s none of my business.” This is not an attack on you. So why should you care? But that leaves the evil in place. You are responsible for what happens to another even if the other person knows nothing about it. If you want to avoid a perverse heart, you must take up the cause of the neighbor. To do anything less is to disobey the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In the end, avoidance means involvement, quite the opposite of our usual way of thinking. Want to have nothing to do with evil? Then speak up for the victim.
Topical Index: slander, lashon ha’ra, tongue, tsamat, cut off, Psalm 101:5
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It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out of your mouth.
My favorite Scripture, yes, taken out of context, but still my favorite:
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
I really enjoyed your teaching on this subject. Thank you for sharing, it is something that is very important for us as believer’s not to do, but non the less you are all guilty of the evil tongue, and really need to work on it.
Shalom
Carol
I am reminded of a story you had in one of your teachings about a Rabbi who was slandered by another. When that person finally realized he had wronged the Rabbi, and the accusations were unfounded, this person came back to the Rabbi and asked for forgiveness. He asked the Rabbi what he could do to make up for it. The Rabbi instructed him to take a feather pillow and tear it up into little pieces and throw them into a river. Then go and put all those little feathers back into the pillowcase. The man replied “that is impossible”. The Rabbi replied “it is also impossible for you to undue what was done by your words”. (PS: I know this isn’t exactly how you said it, but I can’t remember the exact details, so we’ll call this a midrash.)
I know I am late to the party on this one, however after I read it I had to comment.
THIS IS HARD TO DO. …OR NOT DO! !!!
It is easy to say but so hard to do. Just living life -working, family, driving, etc. -I find myself just doing evil. Especially where I work and being my age starting over at the bottom I find myself losing the battle. Please keep me in prayer.
This is especially difficult – to distinguish between good and evil. How do we call evil by it’s proper name – without “slandering”? It seems to me that speaking directly to the person – and not ABOUT them (out of concern, of course) – is a good part of the answer. Jesus rebuked some, but it seems he was answering charges many of the times – and often directed negative comments directly to the individual (as opposed to behind their backs). Even when he said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees – he didn’t name names as I remember.