Daily Lectionary: Numbers 23:4-28; Luke 22:47-71
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, think and speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything. (Small Catechism: Eighth Commandment)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On one hand, we would like to think we wouldn’t deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but maybe that’s only the ones we don’t like. Well, let’s be honest, sometimes it’s even the neighbors we do like.
You see, this commandment is really a two-part commandment, in that we are not only supposed to not say ANY type of falsehood against our neighbor, we are actually supposed to speak kindly, and truthfully about them, always giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Why would God require that of us? I mean, we are only human… we can be THAT NICE all the time…can’t we? Well, you see here God is not only protecting your neighbor by writing this commandment. He is also protecting YOU! I think we can all agree that anyone we speak about would appreciate it if we didn’t smear their name all over town. Nobody wants that.
Remember that Jesus perfectly obeyed the Eighth Commandment. He never spoke poorly about anyone and always gave the benefit of the doubt. His perfect obedience has been reckoned to you, through faith. Now that we are free to love our neighbor, we find out that doing so is good for you as well. While God is calling you to speak well of people, He is also showing you that while you are protecting your neighbor’s reputation, you are building your own reputation as His baptized child.. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Lord God our heavenly Father, your Commands are good and wise. Your word is a better guide than my own. Help me to protects my neighbor’s name and reputation and keep my lips far from slander. Amen.
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