Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

design

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

day 246: 10 Commandments (the Nineth)

Deuteronomy 5:20
 20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

***************

Well... I think I'm pretty good on this one. I know I've never testified in a court hearing, and I know I haven't slandered my neighbors to a cop.

All good there...

Unless...

This commandment encompasses gossip as well... well... I might be in a bit of a pickle.

Gossip is something I try my best not to do, but sometimes, it just comes out. I have to tell God I'm sorry a lot of times over this-- and I try to do better.

What are the consequences for "testifying falsely against your neighbor'?

*Well... you have pretty ticked off neighbor.. and rightfully so. You've basically slandered them and given them a bad name. Most folks (if  my Southern can come out a bit) don't take kindly to that.

*You lose your credibility. If you testify falsely against someone, you become the boy who cried wolf. No one will believe you the second time. IF you think there is information maybe the police should know about.. make sure its correct and based on fact first. Once that trust is gone, it's hard to get back.

*You lose friendships. So, your neighbors/co-workers might not be your best buddies in the first place (why would you say bad things about them if they were?), but talking bad about them can make you lose your friends. Some people don't like being around a gossip-- some fine it extremely enjoyable (and are those really the kind of friends you want?)

This is a hard commandment to write about--- not because it's hard, but because it's easy. "Don't lie about your neighbor to anyone"

Yeap... that about sums it up. :)

God Bless You
~Kelly

Linked with: On My Heart Tuesday

8 comments:

  1. Hi Kelly - this is a great post. You laid it out very practically.
    God bless
    Tracy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tracy. It's a hard commandment to write about.

      Delete
  2. Great post. I actually wrote my Monday post on lying. It seems there is a 'gray' area in many people's minds when it comes to lying. Yet, I never read that in scripture!1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol... I read your blog post. I'm all black and white... unless it comes to like Santa or the toothfairy.... then I'm not sure what I am... a big liar I guess.

      Delete
  3. Great advice! We need to stay away from gossip (and falsely testifying against our neighbors)at all times! Another avenue for gossip that is way too easy to follow is bringing up someone's prayer need with someone else under the guise of "we need to pray for so and so". (Do you know what I mean?) Even when we are praying for someone (with others), we need to be sensitive and not share information that shouldn't be shared or that has been asked not to be shared. God sees our hearts and He'll fill in any blanks. Thanks for sharing! Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! I totally forgot about that, but I've been around people who say, "We really need to pray for so in so because she's *insert not nice vice here*" and since I'm from the south it usually ends with "Bless her heart.. yeah, we need to pray for her."

      Great catch, Joan! :)

      Delete