False Witnessing
Theme of the Week: Liberating Commandments
James Hilt in Wisconsin
Thursday, April 24, 2008
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: Things the Lord … detests: … a lying tongue … a false witness who pours out lies Proverbs 6: 16-17,19).Bonus Reading:Psalm 119:1-16
Because Tim craved applause from others, he devoted a good deal of time and energy to shaping his outward, public image. The way he recounted his success in sports in high school combined truth and fabrication. He exaggerated his influence with people in power and success at work. He subtly distorted everything he communicated about himself, embellishing his accomplishments, past and present.
By seeking the praise of man rather than God, Tim's false-witness-bearing created emotional enslavement. He toiled to keep his artificial persona in place, preventing others from looking behind his mask to see the "real me." He was often forced to invent new lies to cover up earlier ones. The result: bondage to his own false image.
When I heed the Ninth Commandment and refuse to bear false witness, I'm liberated. I no longer need to expend time and energy struggling to be someone I'm not. I no longer need to endlessly cover up, experiencing pain and regret when disillusioned acquaintances discover my distortions and lose their respect for me. Instead, I'm set free to be myself, to rest in myself, and take in the love and acceptance of others and of God himself.
—James Hilt in Wisconsin
My Response: When have I gotten myself in a bind by fudging the truth?
Thought to Apply: No man can break any of the Ten Commandments. He can only break himself against them.—G.K. Chesterton (British journalist)
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Help me, Lord, to experience the freedom of living within the confines of Your precepts.
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