What does this mean?
Last night I was compelled to get out Luther’s Small Catechism to review for myself and another family member Luther’s explanation of the 8th commandment. My last child was confirmed a couple of years ago, yet I still remember memorizing scripture and explanations with them. I often come back to this explanation:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything. In this Commandment God protects our and our neighbor’s good name and reputation, because by nature we are inclined to bear false witness. Witness is anything we may say about our neighbor, be it good or bad, true or false. False witness is making an untrue statement about him, and if true, making it with the intention of harming his reputation. Against means to his harm, ruining the good opinion people have of him. Our neighbor may not hear what we say about him, but God does, therefore the fear of God should keep us from bearing false witness.
My kids always come up with the same good challenge - what if it is true, what if the person is hurting others on purpose and you are just warning others, what if… The list goes on. Adults can claim no victory in this commandment. Work and neighborhood environments have the same challenges as schools. Luther’s Large Catechism elaborates (very painfully):
Therefore, to avoid this vice we should note that no one is allowed publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor, although he may see him sin, unless he have a command to judge and to reprove. For there is a great difference between these two things, judging sin and knowing sin. You may indeed know it, but you are not to judge it. I can indeed see and hear that my neighbor sins, but I have no command to report it to others. Now, if I rush in, judging and passing sentence, I fall into a sin which is greater than his. But if you know it, do nothing else than turn your ears into a grave and cover it, until you are appointed to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office…. But the true way in this matter would be to observe the order according to the Gospel, Matt. 18, 15, where Christ says: If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. Here you have a precious and excellent teaching for governing well the tongue, which is to be carefully observed against this detestable misuse. Let this, then, be your rule, that you do not too readily spread evil concerning your neighbor and slander him to others, but admonish him privately that he may amend [his life]. Likewise, also, if some one report to you what this or that one has done, teach him, too, to go and admonish him personally, if he have seen it himself; but if not, that he hold his tongue.
