Treasure the Truth

The ninth commandment applies most directly to giving formal testimony in a legal context. In the ancient near east, most legal disputes were settled by appeal to two or three human witnesses, rather than documents, recordings or forensic evidence. Bearing false witness was an easy way to harm your enemies or advance your own interests. Today, the commandment extends naturally to any verbal misrepresentation of reality at the expense of other people. Because some forms of lying can actually protect other people, a Christian is called above all to “treasure” the truth. This means treating reality as a sacred trust, flowing from the trustworthy heart of God, which must be stewarded carefully for his glory and for the good of others. Every Christian inevitably fails to meet this standard in big and small ways, so we must continually return to the fountain of God’s grace. Jesus, the perfectly wise truth-teller, endured slander, mockery and false witnesses all the way to the cross, so that we could be forgiven. His Holy Spirit of Truth now lives in us, calling us to repentance and empowering us to change.