Don't Be Lyin
Good Morning,
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. Ex. 20:16
I came across some research done by forensic psychologists Stephen Porter and Michael Woodworth on the subject of lying. They have been studying people’s body posture, facial expressions, and of course their words in order to identify if someone is lying or bending the truth. In highlighting 4 famous liars, it turns out 3 of them were politicians, but that is a topic for someone else to explore.
Commandment number 8 of the 10 Commandments tells us that we are not to give false testimony. In other words, “Don’t be Lyin”. The Deuteronomy account expands the definition to include saying something worthless, in vain, empty, or saying something that has no positive gain or outcome.
I remember during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings, his response to the question of “Did you have sex with…?”, was “Define sex.” We can be prone to asking the same semantical question. It is a question designed to let us know if we got close to the line without going over the line. It is a question seeking a loophole in the 9th commandment. If I create an alternate version of the truth, embellish a story, a resume, or the true facts, am I breaking the 8th commandment? Well the answer to all these questions is yes, but they are really the wrong questions altogether.
The right question, the question in the spirit of the 10 Commandments is, “Am I being truthful?” Are my actions, my words, my representations fully truthful? Beyond that, are my words helpful for building others up and bringing life instead of diminishing life? That is the encouragement in Ephesians 4. Perhaps we are spending too much time trying not to do the wrong things or not to break a commandment. I’d like to suggest a different approach.
How about we start living for something, and moving toward something? Instead of trying to get so close to the line, let’s leave the line in the road behind us. 2 Cor. 5:20 says we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. What if we were striving to be better ambassadors? Better representations and reflections of Christ in every facet of our lives? At work, at home, at church, at play, and in our community. That is raising the bar and setting a higher standard. I’m quite sure if that was our focus, then lying, stealing, slandering, and other such things would in large measure take care of themselves.
So, “Don’t be Lyin”, and instead, be truthful.
Live this week on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein
