The Ten Commandments

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Ninth Commandment Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Someone once asked Jesus who their neighbor was. His reply was the parable of the Good Samaritan. In other words everyone is our neighbor. It doesn’t matter if the person lives next door, across the street, across town, or half-way around the world. We are a world full of neighbors. Why do people tell lies about someone else? Do they really think they will look good in someone’s eyes to do so? And what about the person you told lies about? Until the facts come out, their reputation is likely ruined. God told us we are not to tell lies, or bear false witness against our neighbor. Anyone we know or meet falls in that category, just as Jesus showed us in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In some instances, people end up in court and the judge and jury then have the problem of sorting out the truth from all the lies. How can you tell a lie from the truth? One thing someone once told me or I read about, is that you don’t need to remember the truth, however, you need to remember all the different lies you told and that can get confusing. Telling lies is like draining spaghetti in a colander. It has a lot of holes that just can’t be plugged no matter how hard you try to do so. With each succeeding lie you dig a bigger hole for yourself. It’s better to tell the truth. You won’t need to worry about plugging the holes. Solomon gave us a list of seven things God hates. You will notice lying is mentioned twice. Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. (KJV) It just makes sense to tell the truth. Image courtesy of Pixabay