The Accuser

I have always struggled with people accusing me, bullying me, manipulating me, deceiving me, and using any other method possible to destroy me as a person. As a child, I was bullied many times in and out of school simply because of my size or appearance. I wrote about this in my first book, Prodigal to Prince, and shared how the Lord used these attacks to build His character in me that He would use throughout my life, even when my heart was far away from Him.

Since returning to my Father in 2022, He has shown me a different way of responding to these attacks from the enemy and from those whom the enemy is attempting to use to weaken my relationship with Him. I hope that by sharing these experiences with you, you might find a better way to respond to attacks from the enemy in your own life, rather than holding onto bitterness or unforgiveness against those whom the enemy uses to challenge your relationship with God.

We can start by trying to understand precisely what an accusation is and how it might be used against us regarding our relationship with the Lord. You can look up the definition of “accuse” in the dictionary if you like, but in essence, it means to “bring a charge of wrongdoing” against someone. If there is evidence of wrongdoing and the person is found guilty, the accusation or charge would be considered valid or substantiated. This would be the opposite of a false accusation or charge. A false accusation or charge would not have the required evidence to find the “accused” party guilty. An accusation is not necessarily evil or unrighteous because it is simply the beginning of the process of bringing correction or justice to an unjust or immoral occurrence.

The scripture says in Hebrews 12:4-11 that our heavenly Father disciplines us because He loves us and wants us to walk in holiness. For there to be discipline, there must first be a charge of wrongdoing. It must be proven to be valid, so the accused might realize their guilt and turn from their error.  Our Father will not discipline someone without cause, as that would make Him unjust, and we know throughout Scripture that God is just and loving. He prefers mercy rather than judgment, but He will discipline those whom He loves because the alternative to living in lawlessness is spending eternity without Him.

We should desire His mercy, but even more, we should want His correction and discipline so that we might walk in His righteousness.  Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” It is in this truth that the Father showed me a better way of dealing with accusations. He allowed me to see Him as a just and loving Father who loves to hear the prayers of His children. Before we discuss the lesson that the Father taught me, I would like to share a story about a time when I was “falsely accused” by someone and how the truth set me free.

As I mentioned earlier, I have suffered many times in my life by being accused and bullied by people who were trying to elevate their own value or worth by attempting to lower the value of those who were around them. Many times, these accusations were false and meant to harm me, but occasionally, they were accurate and could be proven true. This story is not one of those truthful times.

I grew up in a Christian home, but I chose to run from God and pursue my own course in life. That course led me into the U.S. Navy, where I spent ten years in service as a Navy SEAL. For those who might not know what a Navy SEAL is, we are part of the Special Forces in the U.S military. Due to our rigorous and dangerous training, only a few servicemen who attempt to become a SEAL will graduate from the program. My training class had about one hundred students begin the training, but only twelve of us completed it. It is not uncommon to come across individuals who claim to have accomplished this feat, but in truth, they never did. To keep this dishonoring behavior out of our community, a team of retired Navy SEALs was established to investigate these false claims. Many people attempt to claim the title of a Navy SEAL to gain access to other positions of authority or notoriety, so this team was set up to prevent this from happening.

When I left the SEAL Teams, I took a job as a private contractor working for the U.S military while being stationed in Iraq. Because I had served as a Navy SEAL for those ten years, my application was quickly processed, and I found myself overseas once again, making more money than I had ever made as a military serviceman. An individual working with our group, who had also served in the military before this assignment, thought they should challenge my qualifications as a Navy SEAL. To be direct, he did not believe that I was ever a SEAL, and he thought it best to let everyone know. In his defense, I was never built like most SEALs, being about 70” and 150 pounds. However, this alone could not be enough evidence for his accusation to hold any water.

He went online, found the group of retired Navy SEALs mentioned earlier who investigate false claims, also known as “stolen valor,” and requested them to investigate my claim. His accusations never caused me concern or even bothered me in the slightest because I knew who I was and what I had accomplished in my life. His allegations were ludicrous, and everyone who knew me also knew they were completely unfounded. There was no reason to doubt my claim.

One reason the other men knew my claim was valid was my humility regarding my past. I did not speak boastfully about it, and I never tried to use it to advance myself into a new position. In fact, the only reason this accuser knew of my past was because it came up when someone was defending a position I held regarding some foolish behavior by this accuser. He had attempted to do something that put all of us at risk, and I had explained to him why he should not do it. He defended his behavior by boasting about his past military experience, so someone who knew me well enough thought it was a good idea to let him know that I had served ten years as a Navy SEAL. His pride got the better of him, and he decided to take it upon himself to falsely accuse me of lying.

The main point is that his accusations did not bother me in the least because I knew the truth. Amazingly, he returned a few days later with evidence that proved his point, or so he thought. Somehow, he had received an email back from this group of investigators saying that “Beau Walsh” never attended the Navy’s school for SEALs, also known as Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUDS). While I had no idea how this mistake was being made, I was still not challenged in the least because I knew I had graduated from BUDS.

The false accusation seemed even crazier to me now, after his email, than it did before he decided to investigate me. Still, I wasn't angered by any of it because I knew that in the end, I would be justified. In fact, I never tried to prove my history to him, but I did tell him that if he wanted to spend his time looking into it, I would listen to whatever evidence he could find. Why not? I knew what the truth was, and his accusations never unnerved me in the slightest.

Had I been lying, or had there been any doubt in my mind as to the actual truth in the matter, I could easily see there being a need to argue with this accuser, even trying to make him feel stupid or humiliated because of his ludicrous rants. Because I was founded in the truth, I never felt a need to say anything. I only needed to let him find out the truth for himself. Everyone who needed to know that I had served in the SEAL Teams already knew and supported me in my actions. Keep in mind, this was long before giving my heart to the Lord, but having been raised in a Christian home as a child, I probably subconsciously remembered Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”  

Because my job position was now on the line with this new “fake” evidence, I thought it would be wise to call these “investigators” myself to clear up any misunderstandings. After a few minutes, the error was resolved. They had used a computer to compare my name to the list of graduates from BUDS. My name had not appeared exactly as it was typed, so they announced it as “stolen valor.” For some reason, the graduation list for my class had my name misspelled by one letter. They quickly apologized for any trouble this might have caused me and corrected the spelling problem.

I found myself having a strange sense of gratitude for this false accusation. It was because of this false accusation that the investigators were able to uncover a mistake, allowing my name to be correctly accounted for in the Navy’s records. After enduring the most challenging training in the world, I believed it was only fair to have my name reflected correctly, especially since only twelve original students had graduated from a class of about a hundred. It was not because anyone else would see it either (this information is not generally made available to the public). I only appreciated that the truth would be registered correctly from now on.

I know some might think I would want to take this evidence straight to my accuser and rub it in his face, but I had no such feelings. The retired Navy SEAL at the other end of the phone call asked if there was anything he could do to resolve any problems this might have caused me, so I asked him to contact my accuser and let him know the truth. I had no desire to shame the man as he had tried to shame me. He was a fellow military veteran after all, even if it was in a different branch, and even if he had purposefully tried to smear my name and have me removed from my position. My SEAL brother agreed, and I left it at that.

About two or three days later, my humbled accuser came into my office with a piece of paper in his hand. He handed me the piece of paper, which was a copy of an email he had received from the “investigators.” The email explained everything that had happened and outlined the actual evidence about my past. He apologized profusely and seemed very eager to try to make amends and become friends since we both served in “special forces.” His service position was not comparable to mine, but I did not see any reason to humble him any further than he had already been by telling him. I told him “thank you” because if it hadn't been for his false accusation, I would never have found out that my name was miswritten in the graduation books at BUDS. Believe it or not, I really meant it.

This story is not to show how humble I was during this ordeal of being falsely accused, though humility was key in allowing it to unfold as it did. It is also not intended to smear another person’s name or dishonor anyone, which is why no names are included. I am sharing this personal experience to shed some light on how we should handle accusations against us as believers in Christ, whether they be from people who know us or from those who don’t. An accusation is simply a charge of wrongdoing. It is not evidence of it, nor does it define who we are. In fact, Jesus was falsely accused many times, and He always responded in humility and love. I have no other desire than to be transformed into His image and be conformed to His word, so understanding how He handled accusers is vital for me if I am to do likewise.

A couple of years ago, someone told me that I did not know what love was regarding a particular situation. At the time, I had recently given my heart to Jesus, and I was pursuing God with all the love that I thought I had in me. I thought I knew what love was, or at least I felt that I knew what love was enough not to be told that I didn’t. I thought I was showing evidence of God’s love in my life, and I knew I desired to be perfect in love like my Father. For this reason, this accusation struck a nerve, unlike when I was previously falsely accused of not having served in the Navy SEAL Teams. Why was this accusation bothering me so much when a far more ludicrous accusation about my life in the SEAL Teams didn’t bother me at all? After praying about this, I realized the answer was in the question.

I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the accusation about my history in the SEALs was false, and I knew it could never be proven otherwise, making it a ridiculous claim. The only way this might have bothered me was if my identity as a SEAL had been established in selfish pride. I speak about the humility of Navy SEALs in my book, Prodigal to Prince, but the short end of it is that we do not generally use our position as a way of garnishing glory for ourselves. A false accusation about our identity as a SEAL cannot take hold of us because we know the truth about who we are. We do not seek other men’s glory because our glory is for the SEAL community, not any one individual.

When I was accused of not knowing what love was, I initially believed this accusation to be false, but I could not shake the feeling that I was not as confident about it as I had been about being a Navy SEAL. Over the next few days, I heard my Father speaking to me. He told me, “My son, come and talk to me about it.” I immediately fell on my face before Him and shared from my heart what had been bothering me, not leaving out any of the details. I knew that He already knew everything, but I felt that He really wanted me to trust Him by opening myself up to Him without any fear.

He told me, “Of course, you know what love is because you know Me, but do you know my perfect love?” I knew His love for me, and therefore, I felt that I knew what love was, but did I know His “perfect” love? Did I know how to love God and others perfectly as He loved me? I knew He had a reason for asking me this question, and that I could not hide anything from Him. All I could do was humbly respond, “I’m not sure, Father, will you show me?” He asked me if I wanted to know His perfect love as His Son, Jesus, does. I almost shouted, “Yes, Father! More than anything!” He told me to be grateful for His mercy and grace in allowing me to hear and receive this truth, beginning with the accusation charged against me by this other person, regardless of the purpose behind the accusation or the delivery of it. The accusation was that I did not know what love was regarding a particular situation. The truth of it was that I did not know how to love with God’s perfect love, not that I didn’t know love or what love was. This partial truth set my spirit down a road of discovery with my Father, but I had to ask for His grace to be grateful because my flesh was struggling against it.

He asked me to read 1 Corinthians 13 from beginning to end, focusing primarily on verses 4-8. He told me that when I could allow His love to work in me precisely as it is defined in those verses in every encounter that I have with Him and with others, then I would begin to know His perfect love. The scripture says, “Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” After praying and meditating on these words for a few days, I began to feel a gratefulness rise within me for this accusation that had been brought against me. I began to understand what I had been missing.

Now, before we move on, I feel it necessary to address one part of this verse as it relates to the writing of these stories that I am sharing with you. When it says, “does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,” it is referring to forgiveness, not forgetting. It means that we do not hold someone in debt to us for wronging us. If it meant that there could be no memory of it occurring, much of the Bible would not be written, because much of it is about man rejecting God and causing His heart to suffer. He forgives us for our debts, but our errors might still be recorded for others to learn from, including those errors committed against us. If you doubt this, you might read about King David’s life in 1 and 2 Samuel or the Book of Psalms. For an even more revealing life, try reading about the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well in the Book of John. Our testimony is the story of how Jesus redeemed our lives: the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is one reason why we must learn to walk in humility.

Moving forward, our Father had shown me that I did not fully understand His perfect love. I had a shadow of an understanding of it at best. I remembered the accusation I heard saying that I did not know love or that I did not know what love was, and I had to admit the truth about it. I even thanked the individual for bringing it to my attention, without considering how it was said. It was a truthful accusation, even if only in part, and it was based on the Word of God. Knowing that there are many truths in God’s Word where I am currently falling short, I had to recognize that every truthful accusation against me could be profitable for bringing me closer to my heavenly Father if I would only allow myself to be open to the truth.

The Father revealed to me a secret about how I was to receive accusations from now on. In humility, He wanted me to listen to any charge brought against me but not respond to them until I had brought them to Him for His judgment. He wanted me to lay them down at His feet, so He could lovingly and perfectly deal with them. He always corrects me in love when there is truth in the allegations, and He shows me when the enemy is speaking falsely. He uses the truth to realign me with His will, and He exposes the lies and falsehoods to set me free from any unearned shame or guilt. Is it not always easy to hear a false accusation, because if there is any doubt within my heart as to my innocence, sometimes the enemy can tempt me to believe his lies are true. However, I know that my Father will never lie or tempt me, and His judgment is always righteous and true. The lesson I have learned is to walk in humility and love, quickly bringing any charge or accusation to my Father, so I might be corrected in love or be exonerated.     

I will delve deeper into this subject in my next book, Ministering to the Son, because I believe God wants us to not only know how to bring correction in love but also how to receive it, even when it isn’t delivered to us in love. One of the things we will address is how Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren” in Revelation 12:10. The scripture says he accuses us “day and night” before our God. Still, Hebrews 7:25 says there is yet One who stands before our God and lives to make intercession for all who come to God through Him. This scripture is speaking about Jesus and how He is our Great Defender.

The enemy knows better than to falsely accuse us before the Father because our Father knows all things, and those lies would have no effect on His heart, just as the false accusation about me not being a Navy SEAL had no impact on mine. Satan wants to hurt our Father by truthfully accusing His children of wrongdoings because our sin grieves God’s Spirit. Thankfully, Jesus stands before our Father and intercedes on our behalf, claiming the sins of those who love Him as His own. When we repent of our sin, it allows Him to take them on Himself, but if we choose to hold onto our unforgiveness, for example, it keeps those sins in our hearts and separates us from God.

This is why it is so essential that we take every accusation against us before the Father so that He might judge the truthfulness or falseness of their claim. We must keep our hearts open to the truth, even when it hurts, remembering that Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” In this way, we can use Satan’s accusations about us to produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. I hope this message gives you some encouragement to stand firm against the enemy and his false accusations, while allowing our Father to reveal any errors or harmful ways within us and draw us closer to Him.

You can also find our books, Prodigal to Prince and Ministering to Our Father, on Amazon.com or by clicking on the links on the Home Page under “Books and Merchandise.”