Slander of man amounts to blasphemy of God, since God's true man is created complete and perfect, in His likeness. But one seldom slanders just for the sake of slandering. So if we are tempted to malign our fellowman, let us look honestly at our motives and consider well if any goal is worth the awful cost of blasphemy.
Coveting of another's possession, position, or prestige is often the motive for slander. Covetousness uses slander as a substitute for either honest labor or outright stealing. Is it a mere happenstance that the ninth and tenth commandments juxtapose "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" and "Thou shalt not covet . . . any thing that is thy neighbour's"? Ex. 20:16, 17.
These two commandments bear true witness that the ideal man, unremittingly obedient to God's laws, neither covets nor slanders. They testify that man is never a perpetrator or a victim, but is always untouched by the claims of begrudging and berating.
