They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. — Psalm 109:3
There have been several high-profile court cases in recent years that have captured the attention of the world. One of the more recent ones, involving a couple of actors, garnered much attention among media outlets. The case was covering a lot of issues, one being that of defamation.
It’s not uncommon for someone to try to ruin another’s reputation. It has become all too common in our world today. Our political leaders do it to each other, attacking in an attempt to smear the name and reputation of their opponent. Those traits have even made their way into our workplaces. We see false accusations made to prevent someone from maintaining or obtaining a position at work. Not all accusations are false, but there are many instances where they are.
David seems to be talking about that type of thing here in Psalm 109. He said that he was surrounded by people with words of hatred. It was slanderous reports attempting to destroy his reputation and attack his character. He even said that he had given them no reason to attack him. Their attacks were without a cause.
Just because we are living our lives the way God would have us to, it does not exempt us from Satan and his influences attempting to attack and destroy our character. He would love nothing more than to destroy your reputation as a Christian. Having a good Christian reputation allows others to see Christ through you, and he does not want that. So he uses whatever resources he has available to attempt to destroy it.
As we live our lives, we must live them on constant guard. In every direction we turn, there is something that could potentially harm our Christian reputation. That is exactly what Satan wants. Instead, we should pray and ask that God help us live our lives sanctified to Him. We need Him to help us guard against the attacks that come our way. Alone, we are much more likely to let our guard down and fall prey to one of these attacks. Once our reputation is tarnished, it’s difficult to ever get it back.
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