JESUS, THE TRUTH

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Exodus 20:16

I have a confession to make. I really dislike politics.

That means I am really not enjoying things right now as we are in the heat of a year when we will elect out nation’s next president. Currently, we’re just in the primary stages as each party tries to determine who they will select to run in the general election. Television, radio and the newspapers are just abuzz with every single facet of every single candidate in every single race in every single state. It’s definitely political saturation. And I guess this wouldn’t be a bad thing and maybe it would even be a little more tolerable for me if political behavior were a little more civil.

But it just isn’t that way. No…politics today is an exercise in verbal and information guerilla warfare between candidates and their camps. The acidic rhetoric flows freely from one to another and keeps stoking the flames of dissent and distraction…distraction from the real matters we should be concerned with. Like whether a candidate can really properly represent our country…our state…our county or city…or our district depending on the election and the jurisdiction. One thing is certain…in answering the question as to whether a person is suitable to properly represent me…I need to test them against a lot of standards which would include this ninth commandment…"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."

So what constitutes false testimony? Here are a few things and their definitions:

a. slander - 1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation 2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person . Synonyms include libel and defame.

b. gossip – 1 : a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others 2 a: rumor or report of an intimate nature b: a chatty talk c: the subject matter of gossip

c. lying – 1 : marked by or containing falsehoods

d. false accusation - 1 : a false charge of wrongdoing

e. smear – 1 : a usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization —often used attributively as in smear campaign

Question: How well have you adhered to this commandment? Can you see where participating in any of these acts is damaging to another…to your neighbor? And often times, that’s the very intent in the first place. We speak in these ways because we WANT to degrade, defame, insult, embarrass or damage someone and their reputation. Rest assured of this, there is nothing of Jesus Christ or the Father in speaking this way. So if you say you’re a Christian and you are doing any of the above, then stop now because you are slandering the very name of Jesus through your actions. Remember what Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." (John 14:6) He is THE TRUTH. And we can have THE TRUTH in us if we open our hearts and minds to Jesus and accept Him in. One thing is certain, if we do this, our days of false testimony will be over.

It’s little wonder that the bible speaks so negatively about the tongue because of its potential for transmitting evil. Scripture says, "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." James 3:5-10

Indeed, brothers and sisters…this should not be. With Jesus…THE TRUTH…in us, it won’t be. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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