DAY 1 – June
14
“BACK TO
BASICS” (a study of the Ten Commandments)
TITLE: “A
FALSE TESTIMONY”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
KEY
VERSE: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus
20:16
According to
Webster’s Dictionary, a testimony is ‘a solemn declaration or affirmation made
to establish some fact’. A witness is one who gives testimony of something.
Since a testimony against or for someone could have great consequences, a false
testimony is forbidden by God’s law.
Take a few moments to reflect on the following passages from Gods word
concerning false testimony:
There are
many different words that can be used to describe a witness. A witness could be
knowledgeable or non-knowledgeable, helpful or not helpful, honest or
dishonest, true or false. The ninth commandment guards a person’s reputation
against a false accusation. A false
witness can destroy the reputation, the happiness, the freedom, and the very
life of another.
The Old
Testament story of Naboth’s vineyard, referenced in
the sermon on Sunday, is an example of the results of false testimony. Naboth had a vineyard close to the
DAY 2 – JUNE
15
“BACK TO
BASICS” (a study of the Ten Commandments)
TITLE:
“SLANDER”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
KEY
VERSE: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus
20:16
What comes to
mind when you hear the word, ‘slander’? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as
defamation. It is a false report maliciously uttered and tending to injure the
reputation of another. Leviticus 19:16 instructs, “’Do not go about spreading slander among your people.”
The Apostle
Paul used slander to describe ungodly behavior. In Romans, he linked it with
other things that ought not to be done.
He wrote, “They have become filled
with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
Romans 1:29-31.
The seriousness of slandering others is also clearly seen in Paul’s letter to
the Corinthians. He said, “Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the
Bishop Matthew
Simpson
was a well-loved minister of American Methodism in the 1800’s. Speaking on the
theme of slander, he once said, “I would rather play with the forked lightning,
or take in my hands living wires with their fiery currents, than speak a
reckless word against any servant of Christ, or idly repeat the slanderous
darts which thousand of Christians are hurling on others to the hurt of their
own souls and bodies.”
Bishop
Simpson went on to say that the reason why Christians sometimes are not filled
with joy, are not blessed and prosperous in their life, may be that, “Some dart
which you have flung with angry voice, or in an idle hour of thoughtless gossip
is pursing you on its way back, as it brings back to the source from which it
came every shaft of bitterness and every evil and idle word.”
These
words by this preacher of years ago are worth reflection upon today. Words are
powerful and can do great harm to someone. Guard against slander.
DAY 3 – JUNE
16
“BACK TO
BASICS” (a study of the Ten Commandments)
TITLE: “BE
CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “You
shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
The words we
speak can often be used to produce the outcome of our own choosing. The tone
with which we speak or the emphasis we make when saying something can lead the
listener to conclusions that might be different if spoken with a different
tone. Leaving certain information out of a story can lead others to conclude a
different thought or understanding of what is said. A partial testimony or
something shared only in part can lead one to conclusions that might be
different if they knew the rest of the story. Leaving these pieces out of
something we say can be as painful or harmful as adding things to what we say that were not true.
There is an
old story that says that on a sailing vessel, the mate of the ship, yielding to
a temptation, became drunk. He had never before been in such a state. However,
the captain entered in the log of the ship the record for the day, “Mate drunk
today.” When the mate read this entry, he implored the captain to take it out
of the record, saying that when it was read by the owners of the ship, it would
cost him his post. The captain well knew
that this was his first offense. However, he refused to change the record and
said to the mate, “This is the fact, and into the log it goes.”
Some days
afterward, the mate was keeping the log. After he had recorded the latitude and
longitude, the run for the day, the wind and the sea, he made another entry. He
wrote, “Captain sober today.” The
indignant captain protested when he read the record, declaring that it would
leave an altogether false impression in the minds of the owners of the vessel,
as if it were an unusual thing for him to be sober. But, the mate answered as
the captain answered him, “This is the fact, and into the log it goes.”
The statement
was accurate, but it gave a misrepresentation of the circumstances and the
truth. There was some truth but not the whole truth. People could have easily
come to a wrong conclusion, causing pain, misunderstanding, harm and hurt. How
we use the words we speak really do matter. What we fail to say at times can be
as harmful as what we do say. As the old
Sunday School song said, “Oh, be careful little mouth
what you say.”
DAY 4 – JUNE
17
“BACK TO
BASICS” (a study of the Ten Commandments)
TITLE: “THE
WORDS WE SPEAK MATTER”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
KEY
VERSE: “You shall not give false testimony
against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
In the
presidential campaign of 1864, opposition newspapers reported that when Lincoln
went down to visit General McClellan a few days after the Battle of Antietam,
when the dead were still unburied, he asked his bodyguard, Colonel Lamon to sing a song that would have been inappropriate and
disrespectful in that setting. The song was, “The Picayune Butler”. It was reported that General McClellan raised
his hand in protest and said to him, “No, Mr. President.”
History has
revealed what was written in the letter, as it tells what really took place. On
the visit to
Once words
are spoken or written, they can never be taken back. James gives us this
admonition. “My dear brothers, take note
of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become
angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God
desires.” James 1:19-20.
Listening
carefully first can save us from a wrong response. Zeno, the Ancient Greek
Philosopher pointed out that a man has two ears but only one mouth. Being slow to speak can stop us from saying
something that should not be said. The human tendency is to be reactive rather
than reflective. Someone said, “Before you give anyone a piece of your mind,
make sure that you can get by with what you have left!” We are to weigh our
words carefully, knowing that they count. “He
who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to
ruin.” Proverbs 13:3.
DAY 5 – JUNE
18
“BACK TO
BASICS” (a study of the Ten Commandments)
TITLE: “GUARD
THE REPUTATION OF YOUR NEIGHBOR”
WEEKLY
SCRIPTURE
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
KEY
VERSE: “You shall not give false
testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
Care for
others should guide what we say about others. This commandment reminds us of
our responsibility to our neighbors. We are to guard and care for the
reputation of our neighbor.
In the Gospel
of Luke, it is recorded that an expert in the law asked Jesus what must be done
to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked the expert in the law to answer his own
question by sharing his interpretation of the law. The man answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all
your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Luke 10:27.
Jesus
affirmed the man’s answered by saying, “Do
this and you will live.” Luke 10:28. The man followed up, wanting to
justify himself by asking who his neighbor was. Jesus responded by telling the
story we have come to know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told of
a man who had been robbed and left half dead. Two religious people walked right
on by. But, it was a Samaritan who stopped and took pity upon the wounded man.
He bandaged his wounds and ministered to his needs, taking him to an inn to be
cared for.
Jesus then
said, “’Which of these three do you think
was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ The expert in
the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do
likewise.’” Luke 10:36-37.
When we give
false testimony against our neighbor, we can hurt their reputation and their
life. Our neighbor is anyone we can hurt with our words. The reality of the damage that can be done
should cause us to stop and be more careful about what we say about others.
There is an
old story told about someone who said some painful rumors about another man.
Later, feeling quite convicted of what he had done, he went to the man and
asked for forgiveness. The man took a feather pillow outside and ripped it
open. Since it was a very windy day, the feathers went flying all over. He then said, “Go pick up all the feathers.” The
man was shocked and said, “With this wind, there is no way that I can pick up
all those feathers. They have gone all over the place.” The man who had been
hurt by the rumors that had been spread then responded, “Neither can you undo
the damage done by the things you have said.”