Week 31 Day 6
Finding God in the Mysteries of every day
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Exodus 20: 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
OK, I confess. I am a fan of police drama, especially old British stuff from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. One thing I have taken note of is the declining respect for the rule of law and the importance of honesty. So called “situational ethics” have become the norm rather than the exception. Not too difficult to understand in a world totally under the sway of the sin nature.
The constant lying to one another was not God’s plan for His people. Bearing “false witness” means more than just lying in “sworn testimony” in a court of law. It is a law which in God’s eyes should govern all of our interactions with one another. Again, it begs the very question Jesus was asked by his accuser, a self-righteous lawyer. “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29)
Is it ever OK to lie, to “bear false witness”? A very difficult question to answer. To lie, to withhold information out of love, or fear for the well-being of someone else, is this OK? How about lying or omitting information for the sake of convenience and expediency, or to avoid uncomfortable confrontation?
My dad always said that a man should be “straight up and straight on”, which I supposed meant that a man should be without guile. For me, as I walk with Jesus I take this to mean to be like Jesus, cherishing and treating the truth as if it were a great treasure and letting His Spirit guide my every interaction with other people. Do I always succeed at this. Ask my kids, they will affirm that I have often failed, but each day is a new day, and I strive to get a little better very day.
Larry M Lawrence- Mysteries 