False Impression Is False Witness
Posted by:
Bible Blogger on
October 25, 2007 at
2:30AM EST
The temptation to try and smear someone you don't like is always around
you. The Bible, of course, is very clear about what God's position is
concerning spreading lies and rumors and innuendos about brothers and
sisters in Christ.
"A false witness will not go
unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will
perish." - Proverbs 19:9 (ESV)
The problem is that sometimes we think we're not bearing false witness
because we're not "telling lies" about someone. False witness can be
more than just telling a straightforward lie about someone.
For example, I know recently of someone who was trying to create the
impression that a fellow believer was causing dissension among the body
of believers to which they both belonged. They would say things to
make people question whether or not there was a problem involving this
fellow believer whom they did not like. The person making the innuendo
felt justified because they never actually came out and said anything
false but instead just created an atmosphere where people started to
question the situation when there was nothing to question.
That's as much being a false witness as if this person had just come
out and said "there are five hundred people with a problem over this."
Leaving a false impression to discredit a brother or sister in Christ
is as much a sinful activity as straightforward bearing of false
witness.
Ultimately, the fruit of that labor will return to the person who is
bearing any kind of false witness. The light of truth will shine
through and people will realize what is going on and then
accountability will come to bear. So why put yourself in the situation
where you have to later make excuses for your actions or try to bluff
out of a situation where you've been caught making things look
different than reality?
