TRUTH vs slander

What's the difference between the truth and slander?

Well slander is saying false things about someone.  Ruining someone's reputation with allegations you have no truthful evidence to sustain. 

The TRUTH is stating what has happened to you in the most honest way.  Doing it with no intention of ruining a reputation, not adding or embellishing. And not adding your opinion or why. Sometimes sharing the truth can have consequences for the people involved in the story, well most of the time it does.

For instance, recently my house was broken into and robbed. The truth is that my son was working with a man who used that relationship to gain personal information about our home and our possessions. This person had evil intentions with the information he obtained and eventually used what he learned to his benefit and our harm. He determined when we would be away from the house and he determined where the items he wanted to steal were located, and he came into our home and took them. He not only took these things but rummaged through drawers and cabinets and was in our home alone. This situation could have ended up so differently because much to this man's surprise there was someone in our home the first time he came in. Yes-someone was in the shower and after rummaging around, and he must have heard this person and fled our house. This did not stop his need for taking things that were not his. He waited until the home was empty and came back and took what he wanted.  The truth is he came into our house Without Permission!  Once we confirmed what happened and who this was we made a decision to tell the truth. We called the police department and explained to them what happened. They immediately filed a report and questioned the suspect and others who he shared information with and made a decision they had enough to make an arrest.  This man was arrested for his actions*. His choices and words and actions had consequences. These consequences may have changed relationships in both his and our lives and could affect his reputation, but the truth was told. I do not feel bad for this person because he made a choice. Having your house broken into feels terrible. It effects your sense of security and makes you question a lot of things. I am thankful for an investigation and thankful for the proof the police found.  I'm thankful this man is behind bars and is learning he will have consequences for his hurtful illegal actions. In this situation, justice is being served. I know God uses all situations for our good and I pray in this case that this man will learn good and God will get the glory for his transformation. Our intentions with calling the police was not to ruin his life or hurt his reputation but it was to expose the truth about what happened. We am called to protect our family and our home.  By sharing what happened I could have prevented someone else from being robbed. I never slandered him, just shared the truth.   I do not even think if I shared his name and his picture it would be slander, still the truth.  But in this case, I believe the police (the people you call to help you) have handled it well and I feel protected and safe again.  This is not to say that there were many nights I had trouble sleeping, and there was fear to enter my own home alone too.  I had to walk through a process of healing and trust in God to not let anything happen.  You see it took a while between the break in and robbery and the time he was arrested.  In fact, it was several months.  And while he was still out, my mind sometimes made up stories which were frightening. 

I want to declare I have not only had victory in this but I am an overcomer.  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ‘To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’ – Revelation 2:7

*He is in the Parker County Jail on a second degree felony of Burglary of a Habitation.