Verbal Attacks

We have all been the victims of verbal attacks by people we encounter. Unfortunately, many Christians have been taught that they should not respond to verbal attacks. Instead, when this occurs; they assume that they should turn the other cheek and let the other person have another go. Christians often believe that they should not speak up for themselves, but this is not right. There is a time to remain silent and leave our vindication to God, but there are also times when we should speak up.

When Pontius Pilate accused him, Jesus remained silent, but that was not a normal situation. When people confronted him throughout his ministry, he would respond directly to them. When the Pharisees and priests challenged him, he always responded. He seemed to believe that responding was important because the gospels include numerous responses to the Pharisees and Sadducees. In fact, the account of his reactions to them probably takes up as much room in Matthew’s gospel as his parables. That is a lot of responses.

When the Pharisees asked him where he got his authority from, Jesus challenged the source of their authority. In Matthew 23, he gives a severe critique of their beliefs and practices. They are wrong about many things and want to need to change their way of thinking.

Jesus knew that speaking back to people who verbally attacked him was sometimes appropriate. The big issue is not whether to speak, but how to speak. He always spoke with grace, even if the challenges were nasty. He always spoke the truth. We will not always have his wisdom to speak with insight, but we do not have to remain silent. We are entitled to protect ourselves, and Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us how to defend ourselves (Luke 12:12). If we are going to do this when we are under pressure, we will need to learn how to do it in everyday life.

In many situations, when someone is verbally attacking us, the best response will be to remain silent. Withdrawing from the dispute might be a sensible protective response, but sometime we will need to speak up. We might need to say, “Those comments really hurt me”. There will be times to remain silent and take what is being dished out, but there will also be times to speak up. We should seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to discern the difference. If we do decide to speak back, we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us speak with grace and truth, as Jesus did.