Friday
Friday
Commandment 9
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:16
Because commandment 8 (“You shall not steal”) and commandment 10 (“You shall not covet”) obviously belong to each other, we will take them together tomorrow and consider commandment 9 (“You shall not bear false testimony”) today.
The second half of the Decalogue expresses that respect for other people’s rights that is implicit in true love. For “love does no harm to its neighbor” (Rom. 13:10), whereas the sins prohibited here would rob others of some of their most precious possessions. These commandments are therefore designed to protect people—their life against the murderer; their marriage, home, and family against the adulterer; their property against the thief; and now their reputation against the false witness. Certainly a good name is a most treasured possession; indeed, it is “more desirable than great riches … better than silver or gold” (Prov. 22:1).
The main context to which this commandment belongs is of course the law court. As judge and jury listen to the case for the prosecution and the defense, the accused person’s fate is largely in the hands of the witnesses who are called to testify on oath and who then submit to questioning and cross-questioning. Perjury (the willful giving of false witness) is an extremely serious offense. Yet it is not unknown. Jesus is by no means the only prisoner who has suffered at the hands of false witnesses.
False witness can also be borne in other contexts, for example, in the home, the neighborhood, and the workplace. Then it takes the form of slander. It will include deliberate exaggerations and distortions of the truth. The prohibition of false witness carries with it the complementary responsibility to be a true witness. Even if, in extreme circumstances, a so-called white lie may be justified as the lesser of two evils, it is still an evil. Our word should be known to be trustworthy, and above all we should bear a bold witness to our Lord Jesus Christ.
For further reading: James 3:1–12