Be truthful

The ninth commandment

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16 NASB

What does this commandment mean?
Understanding this commandment might have a more significant meaning than you think than “don’t lie.”

When you look at God’s character, we know He is the truth. It’s His very nature.
He is the God of all truth because He is the truth. The absolute truth. God can’t lie. It is against His nature. So because God is truth, we can see why “do not lie” is part of the commandments.

As followers of Christ, we must be bears of truth. So we must do our best to speak the truth in every aspect of our lives.

What does this commandment mean for us?

“The ninth commandment is about controlling what we say about others. To love our neighbor is to speak good to them and about them. The third commandment protects God’s name; the ninth commandment protects our name and our neighbor’s name.” (West, 2010)

To love our neighbor, we must tell the truth. This would apply to our daily conversations and interaction with others.

How do we show a “false testimony against your neighbor.”

Lying: When you give a false statement about someone else, you are lying. This can take the form of twisting the words of others, exaggerating, or omitting important information to deceive those around you.

Gossip: “Gossip is passing along a report or rumor that cannot be substantiated. But gossip is more than that. We also gossip when we pass along a true report unnecessarily.” (DeYoung, 2018) We should not pass on information we know that will potentially harm someone’s reputation.

Slander: When you say something you know is false, and you pass it on to deliberately to harm that person. “Sometimes we make mistakes and pass along information that proves inaccurate. But too often we are quick to pass along unsubstantiated, false reports. That’s slander.” (DeYoung, 2018) We should not assume the worst about people and be quick to pass on unverified information about them.

Flattery: “Flattery is also a form of this sin. To say to another man concerning him things which are not believed to be true, which, indeed, are known to be untrue, simply for the sake of pleasing him, and paying tribute to his vanity, is to perjure the soul, and maybe to imperil his safety.” (Morgan, 1901)

You might have heard growing up the false statement, “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words can either encourage or discourage a person. This is why Proverbs talks about the power of words to one another. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21), and “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18)

When we say something about someone that is not the truth, it can hurt that person. Therefore, we must do our best to guide our words.

Are we being an imager bear, bearing truth to other image bears?

“Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29 NASB

Bibliography
DeYoung, K. (2018). THE 10 COMMANDMENTS What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them
Morgan, G.C (1901) THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
West, R.M. (2010) “The 10 Commandments—Then and Now”