Do Not Bear False Witness
By Rev. David Wilson Rogers | March 28, 2015
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This Commandment is recorded in Exodus 20:19 and Deuteronomy 5:20. It is typically understood as a command not to tell lies. Yet the power and rich meaning of this simple commandment reaches far beyond the simple admonition to tell the truth.
Although the English translation of the ancient Hebrew texts are generally rendered the same in saying not to “bear false witness,” the two texts are slightly different in their original wording. In Exodus, the word translated as “false” is a Hebrew word implying intentional falsification or deception. It assumes a deliberate desire to mislead or distort information, presumably for one’s own selfish gain or profit.
Deuteronomy, on the other hand, uses a different Hebrew word. In this case, “false” is more correctly understood in terms of empty, shallow, or without power. It is the same word used the Commandment calling us not to make “wrongful” use of God’s name or to never use the Lord’s name in “vain.” Although such empty use of language may contain explicit intent, it can also be a sin of sheer ignorance.
The subtle difference between the two renderings of the words for false illustrate a depth of meaning that transcends mere false witness and points to the incredible power of words in the human community. Words matter to God because of their ability to harm as well as heal. In the context of expressing ourselves in terms of words that are false, empty, deceptive, or even just spoken in ignorance, the power is to harm.
This is a very hard truth to fully accept, and an even more challenging one to live out in our Christian lives. Any time we make broad and pejorative statements, we violate God’s commandment. Anytime we share or spread false, incomplete, or distorted information—knowingly or ignorantly—we violate God’s commandment. Anytime we cast condemnation upon whole classes of people we do not know, we violate God’s commandment.
The Commandment also echoes throughout scripture in vivid and powerful ways. Lying is frequently associated with stealing and defined as behavior that God abhors. In calling all Christians to a holy life, Ephesians 4:25-5:2 eloquently defines the importance of honesty and the integrity borne from refusing to succumb to false witness. James vividly illustrates the power (and sacred responsibility) of truthful language in James 3. Jesus also addresses the subject in the Sermon on the Mount when he tells us that we must be honest in our speech. “Let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no. Matthew 5:37 goes on to say that if truth does not come from our mouth, what does flow forth is of the evil one.
The failure of Christians to live into the fullness of the Commandment is all around us. Bearing false witness does far more than distort and corrupt truth. It shatters peace, erodes trust, and violates all of humanity. Even well-intended statements that are rooted in presumed Christian doctrine violate God’s Law in powerful, albeit subtle ways. Statements like “all Moslems are murderers,” “all Catholics are idol worshippers,” “all Protestants are lost,” or simply “all people who don’t believe like me are doomed,” are vivid examples of how the truth can be so distorted that Christians flagrantly violate God’s sacred Law.
The reason is simple. Living in a false witness is frequently easier than facing the truth, learning to love our neighbor, or challenging one’s own deeply held belief. Yet, truly living this Commandment is, perhaps, one of our best hopes for true peace in Christ Jesus.