"The Jews answered him, 'Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?'"

"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.'"

We've reached Step 5: Slander. And this one is especially dangerous.

Slander is when we start attacking someone's character, not just their actions. It's when we move from "I don't like what you did" to "I don't like who you are." We start saying things designed to tear them down, make them look bad, destroy their reputation.

The Pharisees were masters at this. They couldn't argue with Jesus's miracles, so they attacked His character instead. "He's got a demon." "His power comes from Satan." "He's just a Samaritan"—which was basically a racial slur back then.

Sound familiar? When we can't win an argument, we attack the person. When someone hurts us, we start a campaign to make others see them the way we do. We whisper about their flaws. We bring up their past mistakes. We make sure everyone knows just how awful they really are.

Here's the scary part: slander is especially dangerous when it comes after clamor. When we're already loud and out of control, we start saying things we can never take back.

• "You'll never amount to anything." 
• "I'm sorry I ever married you." 
• "I wish you were never born." 
• "You're just like your father." 
• "No wonder nobody likes you."

These aren't just angry words—they're designed to destroy. We're not just expressing frustration; we're trying to make someone believe they have no worth.
But here's what we miss: before we can actually destroy someone (malice—the final step), we have to convince ourselves they deserve it. Slander helps us do that. If we can make them look terrible enough, we feel justified in whatever we do next.

Even when we're not saying these things out loud, we're often rehearsing them in private conversations with friends, family, or even just in our own heads. We're building a case against them, collecting evidence of why they're so awful.

But every time we tear someone down, we're taking another step toward the final destination of this whole journey: a heart full of malice.

Catch yourself before you say something designed to tear someone down today. Instead of attacking their character, focus on the specific behavior that bothered you. And if you realize you've been slandering someone to others, consider what you need to do to make that right.