Slander or Harmless

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is upset that a popular NBC crime drama used his name as part of its show. DeLay wrote NBC to complain that one of the characters on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" invoked his name in a story line about the shooting death of a federal judge. "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt," the fictional police officer said...."This isolated piece of gritty 'cop talk' was neither a political comment nor an accusation," NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said. "It's not unusual for L & O to mention real names in its fictional stories. We're confident in our viewers' ability to distinguish between the two."

Titus 3:1-2
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.

I have to admit I do not watch Law and Order, but this news story caught my eye. The statement issued by NBC was that the statement was not harmful because they believe their viewers are able to distinguish between what is fictional and what is real. However, they took a real person and put them in a fictional show and then took a stab at a real incident in history. Isn't this what slander is? The tongue is a powerful tool God has given. It can either be used to build up, or tear down. The old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," is about as useful as me telling my little brother that his cuts would bleed less and hurt less if he didn't cry. Words do hurt! Peoples reputations and self worth can be instantly crushed by one careless statement. And if we searched the scriptures and took into account all of the instructions about the use of words we would find that our words can even have eternal consequences on people. We live under freedom of speech in our land, but God instructs us to use that freedom very carefully. Do not say something hurtful and then say you were only joking. Does NBC really think that statement has not impact? If you had no idea who Tom Delay was or what he stood for but hear a TV show you like poke fun at him, do you think you will think highly of him and respect the authority he has in your life? We can be responsible for the same type of slander if we are not careful. We can put doubt, question into others minds about those in authority by little passing comments we make.