Not long ago, David French, the political commentator, author and veteran – he’s probably my favorite conservative writer – wrote a stirring essay that reminded us of the importance of the Ninth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
“That’s not just a command,” he wrote. “It’s a way of living.”
As we splinter into us-vs.-them America, French quoted the Westminster Catechism, which describes the Ninth Commandment as:
” … the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth … a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers and slanderers …”
I am awestruck by such a vision and ashamed at how often we trample over God’s instructions.