Testimony

Philippians 2:9

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.”

 We have hit on many topics this week: reputation, integrity, honesty, gossip, and character. The Ninth Commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” touches each one of these issues. The following poem is a good summary for this week’s topic and a helpful reminder as we seek to live our lives as men and women of integrity:

It came from your father,
It was all he had to give,
So it's yours to use and cherish,
As long as you may live.

If you lose the watch he gave you,
It can always be replaced;
But a black mark on your name,
Can never be erased.

It was clean the day you took it,
And a worthy name to bear;
When you got it from your father,
There was no dishonor there.

So make sure you guard it wisely,
After all is said and done;
You'll be glad the name is spotless,
When you give it to your son.

–Anonymous

Fellow Christian, the Name you bear is the Name above all other names…Christ. As you move ahead in life make sure you bring honor and glory to His Name. Guard His Name from the shame of gossip and half-truths. Live with honest and integrity.

Application:

• In what ways have you been fooling yourself regarding purity?
• Ask God to examine your heart.  What has He revealed to you?

Holy Spirit, search my heart and examine my mind;
reveal to me impurities in my life so that I might bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.

Examination

Jeremiah 17:9-10

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. 
Who can understand it?  I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind.”

It’s difficult to write a week’s worth of devotions on truth and lying without the incredible image of President Clinton flashing into our minds. Regardless of your political persuasion and whether you believe President Clinton was good or bad for America, few disagree that he was a president who served without honor. His dramatic lies to the courts, to his staff, to the American people, and to his family left a historic mark next to his name. One hundred years from now school children will not study the president who led America through the economic boom of the 1990s, but the president who lied on national television and was impeached for his lies before a court of law.

Two generations ago most Americans believed there were words to live by and words to die for. One of the sayings that was engraved on the hearts of many was “A Man’s Word Is His Honor.” This was the mantle by which parents raised their children, political leaders ran their campaigns, employees worked for their employers, and businessmen conducted business.

Unfortunately, today’s America has changed. We have talked this week about defaming another’s character, but the Ninth Commandment also addresses our own integrity.

Jesus said it this way: “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)  Some take this passage of Scripture to mean that Christians are prohibited from ever taking an oath. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus is admonishing us to realize that because we bear the name of Christ we should act as if we are always under oath. As believers our word should mean something. Our reputation should precede us, and when we say Yes we mean Yes and when we say No we mean No.

Holy Spirit, with each word I breath help me to remember that it is Your Name that I represent. 

Courage

Joshua 2: 3-6

“Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land…” She said, ‘I don’t know which way they went.’… (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid on the roof.”

 The Hiding Place is the dramatic story of the Ten Booms, a Dutch family of Christian clockmakers who placed their lives on the line to protect fugitives from the Nazis in occupied Holland during the Second World War. For over four years the Ten Booms lived a double life as quiet Dutch clockmakers and as a safe house within the Dutch underground. The Ten Booms lived in violation of Nazi law in an effort to provide safety and protection for the enemies of the Third Reich.

Yesterday we looked at speaking the truth in love. How about lying; is it ever appropriate less than honest—to tell a lie? Are there exceptions to this rule?

Consider Samuel’s mission to anoint a new king over Israel. When God rejected Saul as King He sent his servant Samuel out to anoint a new one who would replace Saul at some point. Samuel feared for his life. Look at 1 Samuel 16:2, “But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, ’I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’” Samuel’s assignment was to anoint a new King, not to sacrifice a heifer. God instructed Samuel to say this to protect his life.

There are several examples in Scripture where servants of the Lord did not speak the complete truth. God does make an exception in the case of life. If we are doing or saying something that is dishonest in an effort to protect the safety or very life of a fellow human being, or even our own life, then we are doing the right thing.

Exodus 1; Joshua 2; 1 Samuel 16; Hebrews 11:31

Father, help me be sensitive to the needs of those around me, and if ever given the opportunity to help someone in need, give me the courage to be bold and to stand for what is right.

Deceit

Ephesians 4:17

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. 
Who can understand it?  I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind.”

 At this point in our study we have learned about the evils of lying, gossip and criticism. But as Paul so clearly teaches in Ephesians 4:17-25, we can learn to walk according to the truth. Paul’s point is simple: that we know the truth, because Jesus has revealed it to us!

We know the truth about ourselves (we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory). We know the truth about God (that He is holy and pure, but also that He loved us so much He gave us His Son that whoever believes in Him has eternal life). We know the truth about others (that we are to "love them as we ourselves").

If we know the truth, we ought to live the truth. "Speak the truth in love," is Paul’s command (Ephesians 4:15). This can be a tough balancing act–we must hold to the truth without compromise, and hold to love without compromise. Speaking the truth in love is concerned with bringing out the best in the other person, not showing up their faults. "Love," writes Solomon, "covers all offenses": love emphasizes forgiveness and new beginnings, not bitterness and bad endings (Proverbs 10:12 NLT).

When we allow the truth of Christ to become part of our lives, we begin to show it in our lives. And it bothers us when we "slip up," and make mistakes. It’s not easy to live truthfully, with integrity. We have to choose that the truth is important enough that we will stand up for it. We need to pray, asking God to help us discern right from wrong. That is one of the roles of God, the Holy Spirit, alive within us (John 16:7-11). And we need to ask God to give us the strength to be people of integrity, come what may.

Application:

• Where are you on the balance scale? Do you lean more towards truth or love?
• How did Jesus balance truth and love? Model this balance in your life.

Holy Spirit, search my heart and examine my mind;
reveal to me impurities in my life so that I might bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.

Slander

Proverbs 15:4

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

One of the most valued possessions a person has is their good name. Someone has said that it is better to die with a good name than to live with a bad one. Solomon said, "A good name is to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold" (Proverbs 22:1).

This is at the heart of the Ninth Commandment: protecting a person’s reputation. A good name involves both character and reputation. Character is who we are and reputation is who men perceive us to be. Reputation flows out of character and credibility flows out of reputation.

A twin brother to gossip is criticism. Criticism is derogatory remarks made about someone's actions, ways, and deeds to make that person look bad. Many people are like vultures circling in the air looking for something rotten. The vulture does not see the green grass, beautiful flowers, and lovely trees. It only sees what is rotten and dead. Critics are vultures. The truth is that none is perfect, yet often we only see the bad and never the good.

Character destruction is spreading like wild fire throughout our churches, community, even our nation. It is time that we stand up and say “Enough!” G. Campbell Morgan said, "While the methods of persecutions by imprisonment and torture have passed, martyrs are still being made by the process of false witness borne. Many a good name and reputation have died on the gallows of a false witness. Many a testimony has been burned at the stake of another bearing false witness.”

Application:

• Do you have an eye for criticism? Ask God to reveal this to you this week.
• Make it your goal to compliment those around you. See what happens.

1 Chron. 28:9     Ps. 7:9     Prov. 17:3; 28:26     Jer. 17:5     Matt. 5:27-30

Lord, emblazon on our hearts the words of the Ninth Commandment. May we feel the pain of those we harm the next time we begin to spread the venom of gossip and criticism..