Like most of the Ten Commandments, the one about “not bearing false witness” is explained by the rest of the Bible.
The idea itself is pretty straightforward: Don’t say anything about other people that is a lie. That prohibits slander, deception, back-corner whispers, questioning motives, or anything else that unjustly damages a person’s reputation.
On the other end of the spectrum, it also prohibits silence, in some cases. If we hear something about someone else that isn’t true, we have a tacit responsibility to correct it. Otherwise we allow the lie itself to continue and become an unwitting accomplice ourselves.
The idea behind the ninth commandment is primarily for legal purposes. If you’re called to testify about someone else’s actions, usually it’s because a second or third witness is needed to convict (Deuteronomy 17:6). The courtroom is relying on your correct retelling of events to make a decision. An intentional lie could cost someone their property or their life.
A civilization that doesn’t have a clear stand on justice is really no civilization at all. In Isaiah 5:20, the Bible says “woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” If a group of people can’t even figure out which way is up, what right do they have to govern themselves?
But think about this on another level. If we’re known as someone who lies to others constantly (not seen as trustworthy, in other words), then what does that do to our evangelism? How in the world will anyone believe us about spiritual things if they can’t even trust us with the physical (Luke 16:10-13).
I’m not saying that we’re not allowed to be sarcastic or tell jokes; people can usually tell the difference between those. But what I am suggesting is that we need to make sure that we’re going out of our way to tell the truth whenever possible. That means correcting lies we may have repeated in the past and not sharing gossip just because it’s fun.
The more that people will believe us when we talk about physical things, the more they’ll believe us when we talk about God. Isn’t that what we’re about?
