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Deterrent
Jeff WeinkaufDeuteronomy 19:16-20
16If a malicious witness rises up against a man to [s]accuse him of [t]wrongdoing, 17then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has [u]accused his brother falsely, 19then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
As far as sin goes, I don’t think it’s often thought of as one of the biggies.
Although God singles out false testimony as one of the original “do not do’s” from the 10 commandments, we don’t always see it that way. Or at least that’s how it appears. For example, to call out an adulterer takes on a far greater urgency than to confront one who spreads lies. However in God’s economy, words shared with false pretense are serious business. I’ll grant you that what’s described in Deuteronomy 19 isn’t just simple gossip but it is a close neighbor and in the same general zip code. One accuses another and if the accuser is found to have given false testimony the punishment is severe. It’s also noted that everyone else will hear about what happened to the one who spread lies, and that will cause them to be afraid and not do the same. Thus acting as proper deterrent.
It’s important we value what God values, and God values truth. He made it one of the original guidelines to judge our lives by (don’t bear false testimony). He then put into place severe punishments to further deter his beloved from entering into this destructive habit. Still we seem to be prone to creating a more interesting story, or just flat defaming others if we can avoid the sting of correction. It’s so important that we are people of the light. Truth tellers (in love), who stand out from the rest as ones who can be trusted. Our testimony depends on it. Otherwise we loose our saltiness and become easy to dismiss as irrelevant.
God help us to be people of the light. Those dedicated to live as you have instructed. Please help us to correct ourselves first and then also to be willing to help others when you point us there. I pray for open hearts and for deep relationships where this kind of correction can take place. In Jesus name Amen.
