Greetings Sisters and Brothers of a faithful tongue…
Exodus 20: 16 You shall not give false testimony against your
neighbor.
Some folk round off that
verse to say “Don’t lie”. But it is much more important than that!
The function it served in
the day of Moses was to ensure that the court, those that sat in judgement,
could always count on honest testimony from petitioners and the accused as they
made their decisions.
I quote Bible scholar
Walter Breugemann from his commentary on Exodus regarding this verse…
“Community requires drawing a line against
private interest in order to make social relations workable.”
This verse is not just about a person saying what they
want to get their way, protect themselves and such. The deeper point is to
preserve harmony in a community.
All of the Ten Commandments are about loving God first
and then neighbor as self.
Just like the importance of maintaining accurate
scales, Proverbs 11:1, the reports which we give regarding other people should
be as honest as we would want them to be about us.
I offer what James warned all Christians of…
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should
not be.
Again,
the Commandment in Moses’ day was about court testimony. Of course that would
apply today as well. But also, it should apply in our personal lives as we
speak about those not in our presence.
Today is
a good day to practice being Christian in all that we say as well as wearing
the symbols of our faith, such as cross jewelry!
Peace,
Mike
