Rock the Commandments IX - False Witness

(This is a re-post of my “Rock the Commandment” series of posts. I’ll be running these on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week as we lead up to Palm Sunday.)

Let's get right to the point.  What did God tell Moses?

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  (Ex. 20:16).

False witness, it’s so far down the list of commandments – lower than talking back to your parents.  How bad can it be?

So what if we pass the buck a little, blame the guy working in the next department – after all, if she hadn’t done (or failed to do) this or that, or if the delivery had only arrived on time, or … you get the picture.  This is not just about framing somebody for murder.  And if you think it is, you need to broaden your reading beyond mysteries.  

Christ talked about false witness.  He said that “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Matthew 15:19).”  He continued that “These are the things which defile a man (Matthew 15:20a).”

Strong stuff.

So it’s not just about the false witnesses that the Pharisees lined up against Christ.  St. James the Apostle dealt with them too.  He didn’t stay silent.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

A lot of time, we slip into bearing false witness through a desire to avoid trouble.  Of course, we’re only creating more trouble by doing it.  John C. Maxwell had a great tweet on Saturday:

To get maximum attention, make a big mistake. To cause maximum damage, fail to admit it! 

What if Adam and Eve hadn't passed the buck?  That woman you gave me gave me the apple.  It was the snake's fault, he talked me into it.  And while they were trying to wiggle out of it, the snake laughed his legs off.

In this ninth post in Rock the Commandments, we’re going to look at some of the ways we can fall short, and some of the ways we can bounce back.

First, let’s go through a few prompts:

+ Have I told lies, or added to or subtracted from the truth?

As Americans, we have a unique way of phrasing this – have you told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?  So help you God. 

You know if you told the truth or not – if you didn’t make anything up, if you didn’t report what you conjectured into what you know as what you know … okay, let’s look at that.  Sometimes we try to understand things.  We create a theory to fit the facts as we know them.  Fine.  Just remember to separate the facts from your theory. 

Did you tell the whole truth?  Or did you leave out those embarrassing or incriminating tidbits?

Was it nothing but the truth?  Oops, those little additions, theories and accusations have a way of sneaking in.  And while it’s good to have an opinion, make sure you label it as your opinion, not as hard fact. 

+ Have I made careless statements or spoken evil of anyone?

Those easy, little judgments we make of people.  Are they more annoying than the people?  Probably, at least in the end.  We talk about their character, their work ethic, their vanity, their desires, the things they do that grate on us. 

Knock it off.  This is not an easy thing to do.  Because what comes out of our mouths reveals what is in our hearts – we need to cleanse our hearts to stop this from coming out of our mouths.  And that is the kind of change that only comes with prayer and effort.  Fasting wouldn’t hurt either.

+ Have I told any secrets entrusted to me, or betrayed anyone?

Personally, I try to be a steal trap when it comes to those things people have entrusted to me.  But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t found myself mentioning something I shouldn’t.  And when you stop yourself, people really want to know more.  I don’t think I’ve let loose a major secret in ages.  But those little ones?  Those things people forget to mention are secrets - but we know they should be?  Wow, how they sneak up on us, and out of us. 

As for betraying anyone, you know what that means.  If you’ve done it, don’t try to rationalize.  Seek forgiveness.

+ Have I gossiped about anyone or harmed their reputation?

This is where most of those little secrets sneak out.  We’re chatting with someone about what’s going on, and the people involved.  Next thing you know, it’s about the people and their goings-on.  Oops.   

Stay away from the gossip.  Don’t share it.  Don’t listen to it.  How many times have we had our feelings hurt by hearing that someone said or did something – and then found out they didn’t even say or do it.  Even if they did – and we don’t find out – it’s one less thing we need to forgive. 

This doesn’t mean that ignorance is bliss in all cases.  But only respond to the truth.  There’s a reason that hearsay is not allowed in the courts.

+ Have I concealed the truth, assisted in carrying out a lie, or pretended to commit a sin of which I was not guilty?

Ever cover for somebody – whether it was a small thing or large?  You know where you stand.

As for pretending to be bigger or badder than you are – or were – that’s another issue.  Sometimes we do this to seem cool, to fit in, to seem in some way special.  Yeah, all functions of pride. 

This even finds its way into the churches.  People get introduced to speak, and we hear about what enormous sinners they were before they found God.  It can seem that if you haven’t been really bad, you can’t be seen as that good, either.  It’s easy to feel less special than the people who didn’t do it right the first time.  We have to be careful here.  We don’t want to be like the Prodigal Son’s brother, complaining about the party and the fatted calf.  And we don’t want to play the role of sinner in order to seem cool. 

We praise God for redeeming sinners – and we are all sinners.  I recall Paul writing that he was first among sinners.  When we do a true and fearless inventory of ourselves, we know more sins that we have committed than we know that someone else has committed.  So don’t fall for the trick of pride.  Don’t pretend.  Serve and praise God.

+ Have I tried to see the good in others instead of their shortcomings?

Um, well, er … we can have trouble with this one.  At least I can.  It’s easy to get mad and simply label people as being [fill in the blank].  Each person is an icon of Christ, made in His image for Himself.  No matter how smudged and dirtied that image may be, it is still there.  Honor that in people.  Rise above the petty complaints that you have.  Again, nothing easy here.  Prayer, fasting, falling, repenting, praying, fasting and doing it again.  Keep going until you finish the race.

Now, back to St. James.  After his mission to Spain, he returned to Jerusalem.  There he was slandered

…before Herod and among some false witnesses there was a certain Josias. But in hearing St. James' testimony, Josias believed and was condemned to death with James. Before the axe fell, St. James embraced and kissed this repentant false witness and said, "Peace and forgiveness to you.

Talk about a come back.  Josias repented of his sin.  James forgave him – completely.  “Peace and forgiveness to you.”  These are the words we want to hear from those we’ve hurt, and need to give those who would be reconciled to us.  So much easier to leave the judging to God and to forgive than to be like the evil and wicked servant of Matthew 18 – who after being forgiven 10,000 talents, jailed his debtor for a mere hundred denarii.

James was both loving and wise.  The new believer – and martyr – Josias received forgiveness.  James also did himself a favor.  He did not leave the world with unforgiveness in his heart.  He did not place himself in the position of the evil and wicked servant before facing God.  And that is a wise lesson for all of us.

These prompts come from A Pocket Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians.  The story of St. James is from Orthodox Wiki.  The commentary is all mine.  So if there is any error, it all belongs to me. 

Image: Icon of St. James the Apostle.  A man who knew how to deal with false witness.