Once I was complaining to my husband about an encounter with an angry stranger in a store. At one point I said, “She had an evil intent in her heart.” That’s when the Holy Spirit used my wise husband to say, “Well, she acted angry, but you don’t know her heart.” He was exactly right. The lady could have been acting out of fear, or confusion. It was wrong of me to accuse her. //Revelation 12:10 calls the Devil the “Accuser.” “…for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.” Note here it is not saying he stated facts, but ACCUSED, assigned intent. But only God knows the intent of our hearts. So, every time we assign intent (or accuse), we are kind of attempting to take God’s place. Ouch.//Another time accusing is described was when Michael, the Arch angel, was wrestling the enemy for the body of Moses. Jude 1:9 says, “But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels,[a] did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (NLT). // Does this mean we don’t make godly decision? God forbid! We are encouraged to be wise and look out, specifically, for wolves in sheep clothing (people who say one thing but do another). But even in the Old Testament, before bringing an accusation against someone, you had to have at least 2 witnesses to the offense. (And if it was a crime punishable by death, the accuser was the one to throw the stones. Accusations were a very serious business). So, it does not mean we cannot make decisions, But it does mean we should not assume the heart/meaning of another. I think it can be safely said that these verses support keeping a lid on our accusations! Lord, help us as we try to keep our lips (and accusing thoughts) quiet.
Sweet Mimosa 