Eighth Commandment
The Commandment forbids lying, speaking falsely, slandering
"Do not bear false witness against your neighbor"
(Ex. 20,16)
"Was said to the men of old: not perjure, but fulfilled with the Lord your oaths.
(Mt 5-33)
This sin is very frequent. Qando you speak badly "almost always you add something and you increase the evil that is said of the next".
(Holy Curé of Ars)
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Do not bear false witness
The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. The word becomes false testimony when prosecutor harm to others, as in the case of the two elders of the people appointed judges who falsely accused the young and beautiful Susanna, who had refused to consent to satisfy their desires, blaming that he lies with a young man. The people believed the two villains and Susanna was condemned to death. But God saw the rescue of the innocent youth through the intervention of Daniel, who succeeded in exposing the lie of the two villains, who were themselves condemned to death, while Susanna was saved (Deuteronomy 13). The vice of language is very popular and this is the only sin that seems to extend to all men, and from whom badly infinite.
The more is the false witness against our neighbor, the more cursed by the Lord? The lie steeped in wickedness is condemned harshly: "These six things the LORD hates, seven, detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, the heart that weaves plots evil, feet eager to run to evil liar who witness specks lies, those who provoke fights among brothers". "The wicked, wicked man, goes with his mouth distorted, winks with his eyes, nods and rubs his feet with his fingers. Devises wicked heart, in every age gives rise to disputes. This sudden be his undoing, in a moment will collapse without remedy".
(Proverbs 6.12 to 19).
God does not tolerate a liar and slanderer for the wickedness of the sinner. The lie like the lie can destroy the estimate, the innocence and ruin a person's life. Who are the prey acts of hatred, revenge, greed or envy from. Woe to the falsehood that the impostor adds wickedness! "A false witness will not go unpunished, who tells lies will perish" (Prv. 19.9). God sees, judges, and sooner or later takes place: "The Lord laughs at, because he sees his day is coming".
(Ps. 36.13)
The voucher is never greedy, so no need to lie to get what they want or want what is not. If God gave us the gift of speech is to use it for good and not to make use of aggression with falsehood, backbiting, hypocrisy, perjury and deception. "Love does no wrong to his neighbor: love is the fulfilling of the law".
(Rom. 13:10)
This command includes two laws: one that prohibits bearing false witness, and the other which controls to weigh our words and our actions with the truth, eliminating any simulation and falsehood.
The first part of this first commandment forbids false witness in judgment made by those who have sworn. In fact the witness swears in the name of God, taking as a guarantor of the truth of what he said, knowing that God will punish severely those who lie. "I will be the curse, satin the Lord of hosts, so that it enters the house of the thief and the house of perjury about my name, will remain in that house and consume it along with its beams and stones".
(Zech.4-4))
Jesus urges us not to swear, but to have only one language: "yes" or "no", that is not to be ambiguous and hypocritical: "You have heard that it was said by them of old not swear falsely, but will attend to the Lord thane oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all: neither by heaven, it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem, for it is the hometown of the great King Do not swear by your head, because you have the power to make one hair white or black. But let your speech be yes, yes, no, no, more than this comes from evil".
(Matthew 5:33-37)
"You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things, you are evil? The mouth expresses what it overflows from the heart. A good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things: and an evil man out of his evil treasure brings out things evil "(Matt. 12:34). So, if you need to keep chaste language, even more important is to keep the heart pure. We avoid therefore be false and ambiguous, showing us the true words and deeds, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
The lie is to be counted among the false testimony, even if you say to someone's false praise. If there are good lies, made a good end to cover a bad thing, or to hide a truth that is good to keep secret, to prevent harm or to calm a person, but we must not make a habit, not to miss confidence and trust. How, in fact, can you believe that one always tells lies? The lie is still a defect and you should eliminate as much as possible. Sometimes it's better to be silent, because the Lord says: "Of every idle word that men will render account on the day of judgment for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned".
(Matthew 12.36-37)
Prohibited by this commandment is not only false testimony, but also in the habit of denigrating others, many disasters have come from this plague. The commandment not only prohibits false testimony, but also requires stating the truth. Who's hiding the truth and who tells lies, they are both guilty, the first because they will not be helpful to others, the second because she wants to do harm. In the Scriptures the devil is called the father of lies: because it was not strong in truth, is a liar and the father of lies.
The main damage of the lie is that it is almost incurable disease of the soul. In fact, the sin that is committed falsely accusing someone of a crime or denigrating the reputation and esteem of others is not called if the slanderer does not satisfy those who have complained of injury.
Who then is this sin, cannot doubt that it is condemned to eternal punishment of hell. Nor any hope of obtaining forgiveness of slander or defamation made without first giving satisfaction to the person, whose dignity and fame he has denigrated in any way, publicly or in court, or even in private and family gatherings.
Therefore we are all called to sincerity and truthfulness in acting and speaking, to avoid the false testimony, perjury, lying, rash judgment, slander, defamation, slander, flattery, adulation, or complacency, especially if aimed at serious sins or the achievement of illegal advantages. An offense committed against the truth involves the repair, if damage has caused to others.
Reflection
Do not bear false witness
This commandment warns us about the good and the evil that can be done with the gift of the word with lies, backbiting, slander, lying, delaying and what serious damage can be caused by a reckless use of the language: "The language is a small member and can boast of great things. You see a small fire which big forest can burn! Even the tongue is a fire, it is the world of iniquity, it lives inserted in our limbs and contaminates the whole body and ignites the course of life, drawing its flame from Gehenna.
Jesus says that "the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart". Therefore, if it is necessary to keep the tongue chaste, it is even more important to keep the heart chaste. Let us therefore avoid being false and ambiguous, but let us live in truth, as Jesus also did and taught, showing us true in words and deeds, shunning duplicity, simulation and hypocrisy.
"These people will attribute to you intentions that you never had, they will poison your every action and every movement. If you are a pious person, who wants to fulfill faithfully the duties of your religion, for them you are just hypocrites, who behave like a god, when you are in church, and like devils, when you are in your house. If you do good works, they will think you are doing it out of pride, to show you. If you flee from the habits of the world, for they are strange people, mentally ill; if you take care of your goods, for them you are only miserly". (Holy Curé d'Ars)
Backbiting is similar to a poisoned arrow, dipping in oil, because it penetrates deeper. And then, a gesture, a smile, a... ', a rocking of the head, a subtle air of contempt: all this contributes to think a great evil of the person of which we speak". (Saint Francis)
Then we must watch over our thoughts and our words, holding our tongue in check so as not to fall servants of the wickedness that drags us into the lie, slander, slander, lie, information and things of this kind that like poison destroys everything.
