Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Berean Study Bible)
“NO LIES ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOR!” (The Message)
Most of us assume that this commandment really applies when we are giving testimony in court. We might remember the false witnesses the high priests produced against Jesus when they were trying to justify his crucifixion. Surely WE would NEVER give a false testimony….or would we?
In the musical “The Music Man,” there is a wonderful song where the neighborhood gossips have gotten together to dish dirt about Marian, the young librarian. The refrain of the song goes, “Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, pick! pick! pick! talk a lot! pick a little more!” All the time these ladies who consider themselves pillars of the community are talking, they are tearing down Marian’s reputation.
Before the days of radio, TV, and the internet and social media, talking about the neighbors was one of the most common forms of entertainment, and the wilder the story the better. These days social media has merely carried that practice to new heights…or lows. This practice can be murderous. Teens have been cyber – bullied into suicide by peers who have spread pornographic photos or wild rumors about them on social media. There is nothing innocent about gossip and lies! And remember that anything leading to murder is also against the will of God. “Do not commit murder” applies to cyber – bullying as well as to anything else leading to the death of someone.
Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” Manipulation of the news has become so rampant that it is difficult to know where the truth really lies. Some firms make a business of clearing the reputations of people or businesses who have had their good names trashed via the internet on sites such as Facebook and Yelp. Hackers even hack into corporate websites to spread misinformation.
APPLICATION: What does God think about all this? Good question! GOD HATES IT!!! Consider what you are doing if you lie about someone:
1. Lies steal reputations, businesses, jobs, and even families. Those who study advertising have found that people are 5 times as likely to lodge a complaint as they are to praise a business. By extension, that means that people are 5 times as likely to believe a lie about you as they are to believe the truth. Remember God already commanded us not to steal.
2. Lies can lead to murder or to a living death in prison. We have already mentioned cyber – bullying. In recent years, there are those who have suffered in prison for years for crimes that they never committed in the first place. In some cases, the District Attorney may have been running for office and wanted a quick conviction. In other cases, the others being accused might have been politically influential while the one convicted had nobody to speak up for him/her. The advent of DNA analysis and other advanced techniques, plus interested parties who refused to give up, have resulted in reversal of sentences for some who were accused unjustly in the first place. Remember God already commanded us not to murder.
3. Once spoken, lies are difficult or impossible to reverse! The story is told of a pastor who was counseling a church member who was a habitual gossip. The pastor had this person bring in a small feather pillow and then asked his church member to rip the pillow open in the middle of a high wind. Naturally, the feathers went all over the place. “Now,” said the pastor, “collect all the feather.”
“But that’s impossible,” replied the gossiping church member.
“Yes,” said the pastor, “and that’s what happens when you gossip. Once the wild story has gone out, nobody can stop it.”
We must search our own hearts! How many of us enjoy a “good story” about someone else? How many of us are prepared to share wild videos, memes, or other forms of social media accusing people, whether or not the accusation is just? How many of us, if we are found doing something wrong, will try to throw a family member or a coworker under the bus, i.e., shift the blame onto another person, rather than owning up to our failings? Remember that as far as God is concerned, there are no “little sins.” God does not grade on a curve. Sin is sin, and the very fact that you are attempting to find excuses for yourself may indicate that the problem is far bigger and worse than you realize.
PRAYER: Father God, please shine your light on our hearts and help us to see all the different ways in which we have been lying about others. Cause us to be ashamed of those lies and to repent from ever uttering them. And Lord, please heal the situations in which we have lied and help us to stop lying forever. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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