God's Top Ten: Do Not Give False TestimonyI think if we are honest with ourselves, we would admit that we’ve all been guilty of breaking this commandment before.
EXAMPLES:
- We’ve lied to get out of a tough spot…
- We’ve heard a “story” or “news” about someone, and we’ve passed it along…gossip.
- Some of us have even spoken in anger towards others and spread rumors as a way of getting even or retaliating.
But this commandment, #9 on God’s Top Ten, is telling us we can’t lie, gossip or spread rummors. "False testimony" is any malicious statements or conversations, intentionally or unintentionally, that degrades or harms another, or that raises a question about the integrity of someone else’s character.
EXAMPLES:
- We’ve lied to get out of a tough spot…
- We’ve heard a “story” or “news” about someone, and we’ve passed it along…gossip.
- Some of us have even spoken in anger towards others and spread rumors as a way of getting even or retaliating.
But this commandment, #9 on God’s Top Ten, is telling us we can’t lie, gossip or spread rummors. "False testimony" is any malicious statements or conversations, intentionally or unintentionally, that degrades or harms another, or that raises a question about the integrity of someone else’s character.
I know I've done that before, have you? It's a temptation we all face at times. We don't want to look bad or get in trouble, so we lie. We want to hear and share the latest and greatest news about whoever. We want to get at others that have not met our expectation or who maybe even have hurt us. Look at what James tells us about this.
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (James 1:26, NIV)
3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:3-6, MG)
Jesus said,
“Men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36)
“The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean.” (Matthew 15:18)
So we have a serious issue here! Our tongue can be used as a powerful tool or a destructive weapon. The things that come out of our mouth are a representation of what is in our hearts and we will be held accountable! If we can’t learn to control our tongue our religion will be worthless.
When God gave these Top Ten (the commandments) to the Israleites they were still wondering in the desert waiting to claim the promised land. They were living as one big community seeking to obtain the destiny God had set before them. Their unity was of upmost importance if they were to accomplish all that God had destined them for.
The same is true for US as a church and a student ministry! We are Altared and God has a great destiny ahead for us. If we want to see it accomplished and reach our promised land, we need to be unified. That means our struggle with "giving false witness" needs to be dealt with.
So what do we do? How do we make sure that we don’t give false testimony, lie, gossip and spread rumors? How do we keep this communal unity that God desires for us so that we can be all that God intended for us to be?
My mom used to always say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.” I want to take that statement to the next level.
“If you don’t have something nice to say, find something nice to say.”
Here is a good scripture to keep in mind. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
So, when someone comes to you with the latest “news”, refuse to even listen to it. When you’re tempted to lie to save you butt or make yourself look better, DON’T. Rather than rag on somebody for the way they’re dressed, find something positive to say and encourage them.
3-5 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:3-6, MG)
Jesus said,
“Men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36)
“The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean.” (Matthew 15:18)
So we have a serious issue here! Our tongue can be used as a powerful tool or a destructive weapon. The things that come out of our mouth are a representation of what is in our hearts and we will be held accountable! If we can’t learn to control our tongue our religion will be worthless.
When God gave these Top Ten (the commandments) to the Israleites they were still wondering in the desert waiting to claim the promised land. They were living as one big community seeking to obtain the destiny God had set before them. Their unity was of upmost importance if they were to accomplish all that God had destined them for.
The same is true for US as a church and a student ministry! We are Altared and God has a great destiny ahead for us. If we want to see it accomplished and reach our promised land, we need to be unified. That means our struggle with "giving false witness" needs to be dealt with.
So what do we do? How do we make sure that we don’t give false testimony, lie, gossip and spread rumors? How do we keep this communal unity that God desires for us so that we can be all that God intended for us to be?
My mom used to always say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.” I want to take that statement to the next level.
“If you don’t have something nice to say, find something nice to say.”
Here is a good scripture to keep in mind. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
So, when someone comes to you with the latest “news”, refuse to even listen to it. When you’re tempted to lie to save you butt or make yourself look better, DON’T. Rather than rag on somebody for the way they’re dressed, find something positive to say and encourage them.
We are a community of believers and UNITY is of utmost importance.
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