file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940919.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                       Monday, September 19, 1994
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Read: Zechariah 8:14-17


                        "TO TELL THE TRUTH"

                 "You shall not bear false witness
                     against your neighbors."

                           Exodus 20:16

How prone we are to lying! With a stoke of exaggeration here, an 
omitted detail there, or a misleading silence we distort the 
truth. Yet truth is the foundation and superstructure of all 
relationships. Remove the girders of truth, and society crumbles 
in on itself. This moral absolute is so self-evident that even 
criminals punish their own who lie to them.

The ninth commandment forbids purposeful deceit against our 
neighbor and underscores the sacredness of truth in all our 
dealings. The two Hebrew words used for "false" in Exodus 20:16 
and in Deuteronomy 5:20 mean "untrue" and "insincere." Bearing 
false witness against our neighbor, therefore, is an expression of 
insincerity and untruthfulness.

This commandment also exposes two underlying motives that God 
hates-- malice and pride. When we lie, it is usually to cast a 
person in a bad light or to place ourselves in a good light. The 
first springs from malice, the second from pride.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 13;6). 
The closer we are to Him, the more truthful we will become with 
ourselves and with others. The question is, "Are we followers of 
Him who is the truth?"  -- DJD

            Lord, cleanse my heart of all deceit
            And teach me what is true;
            Help me to have integrity
            In all I say and do. -- Sper

Thought for the Day: Nothing weakens the truth more
                     than stretching it.

The Bible in One Year:  Ezekiel; 28-30