Number nine...

It has been a restful couple of days, but I have to tell you that I have been left pondering on the first eight since last I typed.  And had this morning not been so hectic, this would already have been done, but I was quite tied up, and would not have been able to give my full attention to this important topic.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."

Exodus 20:16

So, the simple part of this is that we should not speak falsely about our neighbor.  And this means that we should not stand and attest to false accusations against them, also.  Are you ready for the tough part, though?  It also means we cannot gossip.  It means we cannot spread rumor.  It means we cannot talk about folks behind their backs.

And who are our neighbors?  Everyone.  To be a Christian (which, frankly, is the only context I have to go on with respect to this) means that we are to be the salt and light that goes out into the world to spread the Gospel and share Christ!  We cannot do that if we are busy tearing others down, just as we cannot do it if we are false in our portrayal of ourselves.  That's right, folks, I said it: we cannot gossip about other people.

After all, gossip is rumor, and most rumors (while possibly carrying some small portion of fact) are inflated from person to person until they are unstoppably large.  And when that gossip reaches the person about whom it speaks, which it inevitably will, it will be a looming monstrosity that is filled with guile and deceit and negative approach.  And at that point, the only two options are to own the mistake or continue to juggle it.

Ready for it to be even worse, though?  This also means we cannot think it!  We cannot give any conscious thought to gossip or rumor or lies... similar to adultery and murder and dishonor, the heart is what truly matters here. 

We must retrain ourselves to think of the positive things, and look past the negative ones.  Does that sound a tad familiar?  Can you think of or pinpoint a time when Someone looked past all of your faults and failings, saw only what was beautiful within you, and then loved you unconditionally for that?  Can you admit, even if only privately to yourself and God (because NOTHING is hidden from Him), that you were and still are as I am, completely undeserving of the blessing of salvation and grace which has been poured onto us all through one Man?  And, seeing yourself in that light, are you still bold enough to gossip about another?  I am not.

Remember that even if you think you know all there is to know about a person or situation, you can never know that person's heart.  And, as God is the only one who does know the heart and mind of any and every person, that would further mean that you and I are not God... God is God, friend, and we cannot and will not ever operate on that level.  But, having every reason to bear true witness against us, He still sent Christ to save us.  Shouldn't we do the same?

God bless you all!!!