God hates sin. And one of those sins is lying. God hates lying. God wanted Israel to specifically know that if they lied about other people and bore false witness against them they would be punished. His command was, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). The relationships mankind have with each other are not always the best. And there would be times someone would be tempted to lie about their neighbor in order to gain something themselves or just see their neighbor get into trouble. It would be an evil, wicked thing for anyone to do and God made sure they knew that it was a sin.
Relationships nowadays are still the same. Sometimes they’re not good. Lying, cheating, and stealing still abound. Gossip. Slander. Envy. Hatred. It’s all related. And we need to be reminded that none of it is okay with God.
God wants us to love each other. Respect. Honor. Serve. Sacrifice. Be at peace. Our Lord does not want us putting each other down. Lying about each other. Slandering other’s reputations. Jesus said that we are to treat one another as we ourselves would want to be treated. Do you want someone lying about you? Running your name through the mud? Telling things that are just not true? Of course not. So why would we do it to someone else?
Speak the truth. Be kind to one another. Be fair. Be willing to give of yourself. Look out for each other. Don’t make enemies of each other. Love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t lie. Treat others with respect.
A Cord of Blue 