Jan 9 - Exodus 20:16

You shall not bear false witness

against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:16

“Raise your right hand and repeat after me: I swear to tell the truth …”

If only people did tell the truth!

Instead …

•      We gossip.
•      We tell white lies.
•      To build ourselves up, we often tear others down.
•       Have you ever been stabbed in the back?
•      Have your intentions ever been misrepresented?
•      We may not literally take a gun and murder someone, but how often do we say things that hurt, wound, and cause others to die a thousand little deaths?

Have you ever thought of false witness as murder?

It is. It may be slow, but false witness gradually steals light and life and hope and joy.

The commandments aren’t given to rob us of fun, they are to help us (and our neighbors) live more joyfully.

Who do you need to apologize to today to restore a little more light after a little false witness? And who do you need to forgive – whether they apologize or not – for wounding you? (The apology may never come, but forgiveness sets you free.)

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to raise his right hand

and promise to tell the truth

without having to be hauled into court