Speak Evil of No Man....Really??

I love the New Testament. I think it’s fair to say that I live, eat, breathe, an
d drink the New Testament. I honestly think that there’s no piece of literature
more inspiring and uplifting than the New Testament. Having said that, I have t
o admit that more often than not, I find myself frustrated—and a bit annoyed—at
its content. Because the more I read the New Testament, the more I realize that
God has set the bar sky-high for those that would call themselves Christ -follow
ers. Case in point. The Apostle Paul tells us in Titus 3:2 to “Speak evil of
no man.”
Um…excuse me Paul? What were you thinking? Don’t you believe that evil exists i
n the world? Certainly when you talk about speaking evil of no man, you don’t m
ean to include people like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot …or do you? Oh, wai
t a second. I almost forgot. You wrote these words when the homicidal maniac n
amed Nero was doing some pretty crazy things, like impaling Christians and using
them for torches. My bad. I guess you did mean it. Still, couldn’t you have a
t least put in an exception clause for those that are really bad?
Why does this verse annoy me so much? Because I’ve got some pretty strong politi
cal opinions. And what I think this verse is saying is that even if I believed
that the presidency of Barack Obama represents the second coming of Chairman Mao
or that Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin want to reduce the middle class to permanent
serfdom, I’m still not supposed to speak evil of them.
I can hear the half-screams already. You’re proof-texting! Certainly we need to
speak against people that believe in killing unborn babies, that are in bed with
Wall Street, that raise taxes, that cut social spending, that are steering our
country on a path to socialism or—insert your political beef here. Very well the
n. My question to you is this. Is the person that you’re thinking about worse th
an Satan? I doubt it. According to Jude verses 8 and 9, Christians aren’t even
supposed to bring a reviling accusation against Satan! And, by the way, the cont
ext of the passage in Jude is talking about those in authority—including politic
al leaders.
When Jesus spoke about loving enemies, He used the Heavenly Father as an example
of someone who is “kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35). Notice the wo
rd evil. Evil is a pretty strong word. It encompasses everything from your pass
ive aggressive mother- in- law to the terrorism of Osama Bin Laden and—yes—to Ba
rack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Glen Beck depending on your politi
cal persuasion. It’s true that Jesus called the Pharisees “Brood of vipers!” (M
atthew 23:33) but notice that He never called Caiaphas a snake. Jesus never mad
e it personal. He attacked ideas, not people.
Furthermore, if anyone would have qualified for the title of scumbag, it would h
ave been Zacchaeus; the guy that was using his position with the Romans to screw
the poor among his own people. Yet, how did Jesus treat Zacchaeus? He offered
unconditional friendship to the man by inviting Himself to his house. Zacchaeus
became a changed man (Luke 19:1-10). Heck, Jesus even called Judas His friend
after the Scriptures specifically tell us that Judas became indwelt by Satan! (M
atthew 26:50, Luke 22:3) Talk about seeing life through rose-colored glasses!
I’m not saying that I have all the answers when it comes to reconciling this tea
ching with the idea that Christians are supposed to take a stand against injusti
ce and “expose” the works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). I’m just wandering what
would happen if Christians worldwide became known as people that are so loving,
so kind, so gracious, so humble, that they refuse to speak evil of people with
whom they have deep disagreements? What if Christians became known as people th
at are—to quote the last part of the verse we started with—“peaceable and gentle
, showing all humility to all men.” What if?