In the midst of conflict there is great comfort and great caution in this verse. Whether we experience caution or comfort depends on which side of the conflict we are on at the moment. In the heat of the moment everything can feel eternal. Dishonest accusations against you being presented as truth can feel suffocating. The reality is that when dishonest accusations are being flung around, they seldom hold on for long. The reason is that they don’t have legs. When an untruth is spoken and pushed it will eventually run out of power. There is nothing there in the end. I have recently watched a series of accusations being made about a man, and as time has gone by, and not much time at that, it has become obvious that the accusations were innuendo, misalignment of differing facts, and outright untruths. No matter how passionately or sincerely they had been shared, they wore out for lack of substance. The truthful things shared as a counter to the misrepresentation became stronger and stronger and more and more evident, until eventually the truth was all that was remembered. Today, speak the truth in love, and watch God’s people smile.
