Keep Building—Even When They Call You Bad Names

It can always be tempting to remain silent. Silent seems safe—especially in an age when public opinion can turn on a single word, and a person’s reputation or career can be destroyed by an accusation, true or not. But the book of Nehemiah offers a timely reminder: the fear of false accusations is no excuse for abandoning what is true and good.

As Nehemiah led the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, his enemies sought to halt the work by spreading fear through false accusations. They charged Nehemiah and his men with plotting a rebellion, claiming their construction efforts were the first step in a political uprising (Neh. 6:6).

Their goal was to intimidate the builders, demoralise them, and stop the project altogether. The hope was that Nehemiah and his men would be “frightened” from their task. Through a slanderous label and false allegation, the enemies of God wanted the builders’ hands to “drop from the work, so it would not be done” (Neh. 6:9).

It’s an old strategy. If you can’t win with the truth, distort it. As the saying goes, “When debate is lost, slander becomes the instrument of the loser.” Rather than accurately portraying their political and religious opponents, Nehemiah’s enemies resorted to lies, characterising Godly men as extremists, radicals, and domestic terrorists to weaken their resolve and stall their God-given task.

Far too often, this tactic works. How many today have abandoned their convictions, not because they no longer believe them, but because they don’t want to be called bad names? “I don’t want to be considered a bigot, a racist, an extremist,” people think, “so, I best abandon any public defence of what’s now considered a controversial opinion.”

Had Nehemiah and his men caved to the fear of false labels, their God-given work would have ended. But Nehemiah did not allow fear to hinder his mission. Unlike many today, Nehemiah and his men did not listen to the false charge, nor did they allow any fear of the consequences to weaken their hands or hinder their task. Instead, Nehemiah prayed, “O God, strengthen my hands.”

In doing so, Nehemiah demonstrated for us the right response to false allegations and dangerous slander. The response to lies is not to retreat, but to pray for the strength not to fear. The antidote to fear is faithfulness. 

If Nehemiah had caved to the accusations, the wall would have not been rebuilt. And if we allow a fear of false labels to silence us today, truth, justice, and our Gospel witness will falter—surely, that ought to be a greater cause for fear.

We must remember, as Charles Spurgeon said, it is no new thing for the best of men to be evil spoken of. In fact, if we are not slandered, we might have cause to question our faithfulness to Christ. The world hated Jesus, why should we expect the world to treat his followers any better?

That’s not a license to tarnish our names by doing what is wrong, but a call to cast off the fear of losing reputation in the pursuit of what is right.