The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage –Exodus 20:17 (day three)

“You shall not covet…anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Your neighbor is the one whose life draws near to yours in ways it doesn’t draw near to another’s. You each have the ability to encourage each other’s well-being and happiness. In fact, your neighbor is the best hope you have for being cared for in this life. And you are your neighbor’s best hope. Your taking issue with that particular ecology might be evidence for how much distance you’ve longed to put between your neighbor and yourself. The Bible sure spends an awful lot of time and energy pointing out how to structure life with neighbors for this to be the minor factor of life that many often take it to be. If your neighbor isn’t for you, who else have you got? The Bible would seem to say, “Very few.”

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:17 (day two) 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

The line between want and need can sometimes be a very fine one indeed. Type A personalities are often defined by their drive to succeed and get ahead which often begins with wanting something they don’t currently have. So where do you draw that line? One distinction that can easily be seen in the commandment is that desiring something that belongs to someone else is a good place to begin denying yourself. David’s pursuit of Bathsheba was a clear violation of this command. He knew her to be the bride of Uriah. The sin of adultery began with a sin of coveting.

Wanting to get ahead. Working to better your position or to provide for your family. These desires and pursuits, with God’s blessing, are honorable. Weighing every pursuit with a clear understanding of where God has placed you, who he has called you to be, and peace that even if you don’t get it you can be content, this is the kind of discernment help honor this commandment.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:16 (day seven)

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

False testimony, twisted words, gossip, slander, exaggerations, misquotes, deceitfulness, propaganda, spin, empty words – This is a short list of ways that we lie.  There are plenty more too.  When we veer off and walk with the devil there is no telling what will come out of our mouths, but whatever it is, it will be a lie.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:16 (day five)

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Each of these commandments teach us something about God and about His design for man to live for His glory.

What does the ninth commandment teach us about God?  We learn quickly that only a God of truth can expect and prescribe truthful behaviors from His created beings. I love how John 1 describes this facet of God’s (Jesus’) nature. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

How can we glorify God by being truthful?  The ninth commandment demands that our communication and relationships be grounded in the very character of God (truth). When they are, we become salt and light in our culture and communities. God is then glorified. “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬

 

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:16 (day four) 

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

There have been numerous studies to determine the amount of times people lie on a daily basis. Yet, most those studies are dependent on the subjects being truthful about how many times they do not tell the truth. Regardless, the facts found in these studies point to one commonality: our culture does not value truth. When children receive a gift they did not like, we have taught them to pretend that they liked it. We give half-truths or expand the truth to make our stories more interesting. We have even devalued truth the point of making truth relative.

Our text this week shows us a different value in truth. As Dr. Aaron Hufty spoke in the vlog, we not only need to look at the negative implications of the command, but also the implications of what the command is freeing us to do. This command is freeing us to both tell and know the truth. Jesus explains this further in John 14, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” To devalue truth is to devalue God whose very being and character are truth. What needs to change in our lives to better reflect our value of truth?

Rick Henderson
Associate Pastor, Youth

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:16 (day three)

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

It’s not uncommon that other people in your life would become useful to you in the same way that chess pieces are useful to a Grandmaster surveying the board. But regarding someone as useful and regarding someone as valuable are not the same things. When you regard a person as useful, you will think nothing of placing on that person all the responsibility and culpability from which you want to escape. If on the other hand, you regard a person as valuable, you will know that he or she is the very one who can build the kind of life with you in which you help one another grow in character. You will destroy a person you regard as useful. A person you regard as valuable will save your life.

Re:Verse passage –Exodus 20:16 (day two)

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Words matter. You may say that I am in the business of words. Each week I pore over texts that we will sing in the coming services. What do they say about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit? Are they calling us to action? Do I affirm the theology of these words. It is amazing how a turn of a phrase can compromise clear understanding of the Gospel. Words matter.

You may not pore over poetry, lyrics, or anthems like I do, but your source of verbal communication is the words you speak. You have the power to build up or tear down by what you say. To edify or rebuke. Bearing false witness speaks to us on how we use our words beyond telling the truth. We must not lie, that is not in dispute, but we must also find ways to affirm who Jesus is through the words we use. When talking to or about someone take a moment to reflect on how what you are about to say will resound in Jesus’ ears. Is it worth it? Generally, no.

Perhaps we should remember the old saying. “Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words.”