2 Samuel 3:6-11. At the time when Saul and David were at war, Saul had a very faithful and trusted advisor, Abner, who was becoming stronger in Saul's house. Saul's son, Ishbosheth, presumably as a way of undercutting Abner's growing power, accused Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine, Rizpah. This, of course, infuriated Abner, who had been loyal to the whole family. Not only that, it drove Abner to David's side, and he promised to fight for David with the same strength and loyalty he had previously given Saul. Ishbosheth has no answer to this, because he feared Abner in his righteous anger.

The wages of sin - jealousy, the lust for power, lying, self - involvement, are all on display here. Abner is a good, loyal man. He is accused unjustly by the king's jealous son and, because of this, is driven into the army of the king's enemy. Saul, the king, knows nothing of his son's treachery, but he loses his trusted servant nonetheless. We can see here that God uses even our sin to accomplish his purposes. We know that God will have David defeat Saul. God has chosen David to replace Saul because Saul has sinned, and David is a better man and will be a better king than Saul. But while Saul is still king, Abner is right to be loyal to him. Thus, to get Abner into the army of his chosen king, God uses Ishbosheth's jealousy and sin. Because Abner acts righteously, even in the face of treachery (he does not lash out at Ishbosheth, he does not seek vengeance, he simply realizes that he's on the wrong side), Ishbosheth comes to fear him, and God accomplishes his will for Abner, and ultimately for David and Israel.

When we are accused unjustly, it is right to feel indignation and anger and to defend ourselves, but keep in mind that God is using even that injustice to accomplish his purposes. This makes dealing with the false accusations so much easier. In fact, when it happens to me, I now feel a little bit sorry for the people doing it to me, because I realize they are in the grip of sin. Even in such circumstances, we have to act in a good and just way. We are being tempted to sin, as well, and must not fall into the trap. Fight back, yes, defend ourselves, yes, but do so always with charity, honor, and dignity.

Don't stoop to your accuser's level, don't engage in the sin, the jealousy, the acrimony, the hate. Keep looking up - God will show us the path as long as we follow his statutes. In the end, this may bring even our accusers around. First, they may fear us, because following God's rules in the face of injustice shows power, and that is frightening to them. But, eventually, hopefully, that fear will give away to a realization of their wrongdoing, and a repentance. They don't have to repent to us, it may be too late for that, as it is here when Abner goes over to the other side, but they do have to repent to God. Thus, their sin itself may be the path to their salvation, but only if we act righteously in the face of it.