Speak evil of no one

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. – Titus 3.1-2

Speaking evil of others. It is something we have all grown accustomed to see. It is everywhere and social media has made it so much worse. The vicious things that Christians say about other people surely cannot please God when He says to ‘speak evil of no one.’

Even worse is that the context here is rulers and authorities. That is one group of people that seem to be special targets for evil speaking – even among believers.

This is a tough row to hoe, isn’t it? To not speak evil of others? How are we even supposed to do that? Surely this command comes with a few exceptions.

But no, simply speak evil of no man. We might attack their theories policies or ideas or whatever, but we are told to speak evil of no one.

Why is that, do you think? 

Everyone, even the most evil examples of humanity, are people Jesus died for. He loves them. They are His creation. He gave His life to provide salvation.

That doesn’t mean we ignore their sin or their evil. It means that we see them as souls who need Jesus and we show God’s love to all.

Remember, when Paul wrote this passage about authorities Nero was king.