The Ninth Commandment
I am guilty. I am not sure if this is the one I have
broken the most, but I would guess that this commandment has probably seen me
twist it for my own use and often.
The Ninth Commandment says, “You
shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” My interpretation of that has always been don’t
tell a lie that will hurt another person.
Specifically, here it says not to do it in a court of law. But it can also mean telling a lie about
another person that can cause them injury.
You know what I mean – gossip. I
have been guilty of gossip. I admit that
right here. If anyone reading this has
been injured by my gossip, I wish to ask your forgiveness.
But I want to go deeper. I do two things that are covered under this
commandment, but I have often said, “This commandment doesn’t really talk about
this.” You know the voice. It is the same one who spoke to Eve in the
garden, saying, “Did God really say that?”
First, I tease. People who know me, know I tease a lot. For several years I had some 5th
graders convinced that my grandmother was first cousin to Santa Claus. I can look someone in the face and tease them
without cracking a smile. Or did I mean
lie to them? The second is
exaggeration. How easy it is to make
something seem worse than it is by exaggerating.
But what does God feel about
truth? The best way to know is to look
at scripture. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I
am the way and the TRUTH and the life.”
In John 17:17 he says, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” In Numbers 23:19 God says, “God is not a man,
that he should lie.” Repeatedly it says
in scripture that liars will not enter the Kingdom of God. So is it just a little thing in God’s
eyes? I think not.
As humans, we are deceitful. Lying and stealing is born in us. Any parent will tell you, no matter how much
love the child receives, as soon as he is able to walk and talk, the child
steals and lies. Peter, one of the great
Fathers of the Church, on the night of Christ’s trial, denied knowing him and
blatantly lied about it. Like Peter, we
are liars.
How do we overcome our
deceitfulness? By surrendering our
hearts to Christ and allowing Him to change us.
As Philippians 2:13 promises, “It is God who works in you to will and to
act and fulfill his purpose.” We cannot
change that nature born in us. Surrender
to God, and only that, will change us into being the people of honesty and
integrity He is looking for.
Lord, forgive me of my lying
tongue. Forgive me of all the people I
have deceived. Help me become a man of
honesty and integrity. Without you, I am
lost.
Reading in Revelations one day it was listing who will not enter the Kingdom of God - and Liars were right up there with murders, etc.... I wept because I have always been a liar - first time I remember telling a lie - I was 5 years old - and I knew what i was doing. God help me to always be truthful - my desire is to see Jesus face to face and hear HIM say "well done."
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