The Ninth Commandment – Exodus 20:16 & Deuteronomy 5:20
The ninth commandment says not to tell lies about other people. When we lie about others, it harms their reputation and it could cause them to suffer undue punishment if we do it in a legal setting. This rule applies most certainly in a court of law, but it also pertains to our everyday lives. In a legal sense, this is defamation or perjury. Socially and relationally, it is slander. God wants His children to tell the truth and treat each other well. Proverbs 6:16-19, 12:17, 14:5, 25, 24:28
Why Lie? – Exodus 23:1-2; Leviticus 19:16
When we give a false report about another person, we run the risk of someone exposing our lie. When there are several witnesses, the true stories will line up, but the false ones may include various differences in detail. Because they do not want to be discovered, someone may ask us to lie in order to corroborate their story. Therefore, God said we should not join with others in lying about someone else.
What are some other possible motivations for lying about another person? Maybe we want others to like us more than they like someone else, so we slander that person to damage their reputation or relationship with them. Or we may disagree with how they do their job or conduct themselves, so we slander them to get others to feel the same as we do about them. We may believe they did what we are accusing them of, but we do not have any proof, so we just make it up instead of actually searching for the truth. Maybe we just don’t like them and we want them punished. Or maybe a more honorable but no less damaging reason, is that we intend no ill will towards them and only lied to cover for ourselves or someone else. In that case, the blame just fell on them inadvertently.
The problem is that no matter what the reason, an innocent person is suffering on our behalf. So, we should have the courage to tell the truth even if it hurts us, think about others more than we think about ourselves, and treat them the way we would want to be treated. Luke 6:31; Ephesians 4:25; Philippians 2:3-4
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