There are two key issues here:
1. We are created in the image of God.
2. Others are created in the image of God.
When we speak falsely of others, we devalue the image of God in them. We obscure it, taint it, deny it and misrepresent it. Whether it is by repeating gossip, by innuendo, by half-truths or by blatant lie the bottom line is that we are devaluing a human being created in God's image and for whom Christ went to the cross.
Furthermore, each one of us are created in the image of God and are to reflect His nature and character. Truthfulness is at the core of who God is. When we lie, especially about others, we are violating the reflection of God's image in us. We have become a distorting mirror.
Not many of us could be found guilty of full-blown perjury, but we have all been tempted to tell a story about someone else leaving out certain facts and emphasising others so that they look bad or so that we look good.
God is utterly truthful.
Our relationships with people matter because He made them and died for them.
The ninth commandment is about betraying God's reflection in us and about desecrating His reflection in others.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
