This commandment is something that people generally understand. Stealing is so obviously wrong that in the eyes of many people there is no need for any exposition. But in some cultures stealing is something that children are taught to do. The gypsy culture is renowned for cultivating thieves. And it is not just the gypsies who see thieving as a way of life; many reports of native people testify that the concept of stealing is something that is foreign to them. Stealing is simply taking something without asking; only some people think they can take and eat or drink or use whatever happens to be within their grasp, because to them it is community property. God, evidently, has a different point of view.

The concept of "stealing a look" might get you into trouble, or it might not, depending on the jurisdiction in which you live. In some jurisdictions this might be classified as being a peeping tom, even though you might not be peeping through anybody's window, or through a fence, or from behind a bush, or in a hole in the wall. You might just be looking at what somebody is doing and it happens to be a government official, or a criminal deal going down. What has to be understood is stealing is something that is frowned upon in society, except when playing baseball, or softball, and a player steals a base while the ball is being pitched to the batsman.

When it comes to baseball, everyone thinks it is alright for a player to steal a base, except the side that is losing any advantage it might have from the player stealing the base. Hockey players "steal" the puck of the opposing player, which results in disapproval or approval, depending upon the team you are on, or which team you want to see win.

This anomaly about stealing actually tells us something about people's attitudes towards other people stealing something. In the baseball game, the fans and fellow players like the idea of a player stealing a base, as long as he does not get caught. This attitude is not just restricted to baseball or hockey, it is also commonplace among society; for there appears to be a general attitude among many people that stealing is alright as long as nobody steals from them and, if they steal from somebody else, especially if it is their workplace, or a bank or a government department, then it does not really matter so much, but if the thief gets caught then that is too bad, they are branded as a thief. In the secular Western societies, there seems to be an acceptance of stealing from those who are perceived to have plenty, as long as you do not get caught.

The concept of people playing Robin Hood and stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and paying themselves from the proceeds, seems to find acceptance in the eyes of the multitude because of the way society is structured. In years gone by, royalty or nobles seemed to have all the money and wealth, while the majority of people were peasants, who worked for a pittance as subsistence farmers on lands which were owned by their overseers, who were often ruthless in dealing with their subjects. Consequently, a rogue like Robin Hood was seen as a hero who helped the under-trodden and victimized workers of the land. Hence, stealing is often seen by many as a form of robbing the rich to pay the poor the wages they were denied.

Today, people see nothing wrong with defrauding the government because this is where the treasury is kept and the public purse is funded by taxing the people of the land. Not paying tax or finding means by which to pay as little tax as possible is big business in the sophisticated financial world of today. The richest man in Australia once had to face a panel of numerous government officials as they inquired into his financial dealings. They wanted to know how much money was being channeled through his use of tax havens, because he evidently was not paying as much tax as a man of his means should have been. In fact, as the wealthiest man in Australia, he and his companies were paying only one fifth of the tax that the officials felt he should have been paying. Australia’s richest man told them that he made sure that he paid as little tax as possible because he saw no just cause in giving his money to the government, so economically irresponsible employees, like those questioning him, could waste it on unproductive activities.

It is argued that law abiding citizens pay their tax and the rich get their businesses and perks subsidized by the government. Many simply believe that the taxation laws that exist allow the rich to get richer, and are structured so that the poor become poorer. In some countries, there is a welfare system that is very generous to those who are not employed, and while they might be considered to be living below the poverty line, they are in fact more well-off than the majority of people in the world have ever been. They do not pay tax, and they do not have to work long hours or live in impoverished villages without the luxury of running water by merely turning a tap, the luxury of electricity by flicking a switch, and the luxury of gas by twisting a knob. Since these individuals do not have to pay income tax, many workers, who pay tax, see them not so much as defrauding the government because they do not pay tax, but stealing from them indirectly.

At the time the Ten Commandments were given, taxes were being collected in different jurisdictions of the world, but the Israelites leaders were not to tax their people. A different system was put in place. The Israelites were given the principle of the tithe, which was not so much a tax, but rather a means by which they could support a priesthood that brought sacrifices to God on behalf of the people and instructed them about the truths of life. Interestingly, we read in the book of Malachi, chapter three, that those who did not pay the tithe were stealing from God. Because of this, it might be said that people who do not pay taxes are stealing from the government authorities or from those whom taxes are their dues. The Apostle Paul writes:

For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.( Romans 13:6,7. NRSV).

Taken at face value, you can conclude that not paying taxes is stealing, the same as not bringing in tithes to support the priesthood is stealing. However, there are arguments for and against paying taxes and giving a tenth of your income to support those devoted to the work of God.

Jesus said that you are to give to Caesar what belongs to him. When he was challenged to pay his tax as a subject of the Roman Empire, Jesus simply caught a fish that had a gold coin to pay the tax in its stomach. The principle then becomes, when the tax man wants his tax, simply believe in God to provide the money for paying your tax.

When it comes to supporting people devoted to the work of God, it should not be too difficult a problem to tithe. Some will argue that this is Old Testament teaching, but Jesus Himself said that tithing was not to be neglected (Matt. 23:23). Besides, true Christians are by faith children of Abraham, and according to Jesus, if you are a child of Abraham, you will do what Abraham did (John 8:39). Abraham just so happened to tithe and partake of communion in the form of bread and wine. This is found in Genesis chapter 14: 18-24:

And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” and Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

Some people claim that what Abraham tithed was from only what he got from the kings he and the king of Sodom defeated, therefore this disqualifies any requirement to tithe today. However, you will notice that Abraham (known as Abram then) refused to take any of the spoils. While Abraham may have tithed of his spoils, it clearly was not from the spoils of war; because he took none. It stands to reason then that not tithing is still robbing God, even though this is not explicitly stated as a requirement for God's people in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament concerning the Levites. There is no suggestion in the Bible that has been done away with as a means of supporting the full time workers in ministry, for it is something that Abraham did before the Mosaic Covenant was introduced, and God does not change in his requirements, as the Word of God states:

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?” Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.(Malachi 3:6-10)

People steal from God by not giving him a chance to prove himself in their lives. God himself does not need your tithe, but he requires that you give him a chance to prove Himself in your life. If you rob God of this, you also rob God of the glory that is rightfully his because you do not give him the opportunity to demonstrate his greatness and show his loving-kindness towards you. Besides, this is how you can personally prove whether or not the Bible is the written Word of God, and whether God honors His word. If you declare that there is no God, or God does not love you and have not put him to the test by means of the tithe, then your judgment of God is false. You are not being very scientific in your experiment to see whether or not God is true and whether or not the Bible has divine authority as the Word of God and whether or not God keeps his word.

When Jesus said, "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Matt. 9:13), he was saying: "Look I know you did not ask to be born into a sinful and evil world, so do not judge me or your Heavenly Father, but give us a chance to prove ourselves to you in your life, you will find that we will help you, and comfort you, and pour an overflowing blessing in your lives. So do not make unnecessary sacrifices by striving to perform man-made religious vows or requirements, rather put me to the test and see if I will honor my word or not." Not to do this is to steal from God his opportunity to prove himself as Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things.

Instead of stealing, God would prefer us to be creative and learn how to make worthwhile contributions to society which will be of benefit to all. Sadly, many young people have no concept of being creative. Instead of being creative they are destructive.

Vandalism is an often an act of stealing. It is an act of stealing because when someone else's property is destroyed, there is a cost involved to the person whose property has been damaged. Although the vandal does not reap any monetary gain from his reckless acts, he is stealing the person's right to use what was damaged, or, by default, even if the vandal does not benefit, he is stealing the cost of repairing or replacement of the damaged goods. And in the case of employment or using the goods to earn an income, the vandal is stealing the person's right to earn a living.

Young children, teenagers and youth or young adults are often at loss with what to do with themselves. Often when a gathering of them are asked what they are doing, they will reply they have nothing to do. Many often say they are bored. When a group of people are feeling bored and are not expending energy, instead of being creative, the tendency is to become destructive. Consequently, it is not hard to find people who will participate in a protest with the sole intent to create a riot. There may be an element of creativity in how they instigate a riot without actually getting found out, so they can hire their services for the next protest, but not much imagination is required to be abusive, or harm people, or hurl objects at police and law abiding citizens and damage property. All this is vandalism and is the stealing of lawful rights from other people.

Organized criminal activity can be a lot more sophisticated than merely turning a peaceful protest into a riot. Rackets, like the recycling of stolen cars, require considerable planning and organization. Car thieves have to be trained in how to immobilize alarm systems of the cars they steal, and then motor mechanics, panel-beaters and spray-painters are employed to rebirth the cars by changing parts, and removing and replacing a chassis and making various modifications to prevent identification. Similarly, the importation or manufacture, storage and distribution of drugs and contraband require innovative ideas to avoid detection by the authorities. This also applies to all criminal activities. It is quite surprisingly how much ingenuity will be employed by criminals to steal something or outwit the police to make so-called easy money. Then there is the imagination that is required to launder large sums of ill-gotten gains, so that the funds appear to be legitimate income. Only this is an abuse of the creative ability that God has given each person.

There is a limit to the amount of wealth criminals can take from society in general. The reason for this is parasites need a healthy organism to feed off. Any parasitic creature, plant or organism requires a healthy creature, plant or organism to feed off. Criminals, especially those involved in organized crime, need a healthy society to prey upon; otherwise they themselves cannot exist; because there is a point where they can no longer steal from law-abiding citizens without being noticed. When criminally-minded people get greedy, corruption becomes rife and this starts to destroy society. Instead of being able to use ingenuity to fleece money illegally from law-abiding citizens, racketeers have to resort to heavy intimidation tactics and this usually results in turf wars and other destructive and dangerous activity.

One of the hallmarks of civilization being able to progress is evidenced when graft, that is, dishonest, unfair or illegal gain, is restricted to a minimum. When a country has a civilized society living in peace without the cancer of graft, creativity tends to expand the culture and its overall wealth. This has been evidenced throughout history and, in particular, is clearly evident in first world economies, which have systems in place to reign in graft in its many forms. In first world countries, people who are involved in fraud and scams are often being exposed and convicted for their crimes. While this helps keep a lid on corruption and gives law-abiding citizens some hope, there are still many people who see feathering their own nest at other people's expense, by stealing, as an easy means of making a living rather than being creative. While some people in society may be making an easy living from their rackets, they do not seem to enjoy the benefits of life as those who earn an honest living from socially beneficial industry and creativity. There have been some racketeers who have access to millions of dollars, but they are not numbered among the billionaires of the world. The only way a criminal mastermind can become truly wealthy is by channeling his ill-begotten lucre into businesses that benefit society. Even those who have scammed the financial markets of the world have not been able to make it to billionaire status and keep the proceeds.

Andrew Carnegie is regarded as the second richest man in modern history. He commissioned Napoleon Hill to write a book about the secrets of acquiring and creating wealth, which was eventually published as "Think And Grow Rich". Napoleon Hill identified some universal principles that are evident in people who have acquired and created wealth. The applications of these principles have enabled many law abiding men and women to become wealthy without having to steal or resort to criminal activity.

Every economy relies on productivity to exist: be it a local community economy or a national economy or the global economy. If there is no productivity: there is nothing to steal. You cannot steal anything if it has not been produced in some way. This includes hunting or gathering food. Hunting animals to eat and gathering food in the form of mushrooms, berries, fruit, vegetables or eggs or bugs, is a form of productivity because it is human activity that produces something that has value. For anybody to take, what another person has collected or hunted for food, without permission is stealing. The alternative is for people to gather and hunt different items and then trade them. This is the creation of an economy.

It is easy to see why God has decreed that people are not to steal from each other. Stealing results in strife: when two fight for the same thing. Hence, it is much better to learn to be creative and find a means by which you can make a positive contribution to your local economy. In this, you will find fulfillment and a sense of achievement.

Academics get really upset when people steal their ideas and do not give them the proper recognition. Plagiarism is anathema among the world's intelligentsia and is not something any student can be particularly overjoyed about if found out. Unfortunately, commercial advantage is gained by plagiarism, and when copyright and patents or trademarks are infringed, this is stealing. What stealing does is leave a void in the people not being creative. There is no sense of accomplishment when people steal. Stealing creates an inner emptiness rather than fulfillment and inner happiness. Consequently, many people suffer from a sense of despair and become depressed as a result of their lack of creativity. Instead of becoming individuals who use their innate ability to learn and create solutions to problems, or develop something new, or to build something useful which will be appreciated by others, those who steal lose the true riches of life.

One of the interesting features about the ministry of Jesus is how money figures in much of his teachings. Those who loved money more than God were to be accursed. Those who use money to do good are to be rewarded. Money itself is not the root of all evil; but the love of money is the root of all evil. How often do you hear people say they cannot do what they would like to do because of the lack of money? In many respects this might be true, but you do not need money to teach people; yet schools claim they cannot teach the students because of the lack of money. Scientists say they cannot conduct research because the lack of money; yet it is not money that does the research, it is the scientists. Money then becomes a commodity or a means by which people are able to exchange resources; yet people say being a Christian has nothing to do with money, while at the same time enslaving themselves to their possession of land and buildings and other forms of wealth.

In the parable of the talents, Jesus teaches some important truths about money:

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25: 14-30)

Many people like to think that Jesus is not talking about money here. They like to claim the talents are gifts or abilities that people are given by God. But the truth is a talent in this story is not an ability, because how many people have five gifts in which they excel and are able to turn them into ten gifts. A talented athlete might also be a talented writer, mathematician, musician, artist, scientist, but even then, we are stretching the grounds of possibility beyond any probability of such a person existing in the world today. This brings us back to what the Jesus was really talking about, which was money.

There are two basic points in this story. One is that two persons went and used their creativity to trade and double the amount of money they were given, and the other point is one person did not attempt to use any of his creativity to increase the value of the money that was given him.

This story includes another interesting financial feature which shows some sophistication that existed in the economy of Jesus' day. This is the concept of bankers that paid interest on money deposited in their trust. For the bankers to make a profit, they would then have to lend the money to someone else to use the money to make a profit. Jesus was effectively endorsing what is known as capitalism, which is the use of wealth to create more wealth.

The idea of lending money out at interest was not new in Jesus day. The Mosaic covenant permitted lending at interest by Israelites to non-Israelites. It was also known in other cultures and recognized as a legitimate means of expanding an economy and increasing wealth. The middle-man is often accused of making all the money, but it just so happens that the middle-man is also responsible for creating many of the systems that enables economies to expand and more wealth to be shared by the people.

Capitalism always requires middle-men and, of all the many tested types of economical revolutions throughout history, capitalism has proven to be the most efficient in distributing wealth among the people. This is something Jean Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Museum, noticed when traveling to Russia just after the First World War. Getty was considering becoming a socialist and a diplomat. But when he saw the impoverished conditions experienced by the Russians compared with the abundance of wealth that was shared by many more American citizens, Getty realized the virtues of capitalism outshone that of socialism. Getty then decided to build his own business, which ended up employing over twelve thousand employees, with the lowest corporate turnover of employees in the USA and UK. Today, all the Eastern European Socialist Countries and the USSR that were known as the Communist Bloc, and Communist China have recognized the value of capitalism for creating wealth and improving the material comforts of their citizens, and have abandoned the idea of socialism and communism to permit capitalism to flourish.

The reason capitalism works is people are given an opportunity to employ the capital they have to create more wealth for themselves. To a large degree, this is reflected within the Mosaic covenant, where the law of the jubilee provided people with a means to improve their conditions in life with some capital. Essentially, capitalism means that you can improve your own circumstances in life by using your abilities to increase your wealth. And in the case that you have plenty of wealth, you can share it among the poor, and then go and create some more. The truth is God wants you to be creative and have a purpose in life. God does not want people to have children who have all the material possessions and comforts of this world, who become so bored with life and so empty inside their hearts that they become drug addicts. The tragedy is the evil one is stealing the hearts and souls of many young people who have no purpose in life, or can find no purpose in life other than to get drunk, get laid, and get hooked on drugs; all because their parents see money and status as the be all and end all of life.

Life is meant to be an adventure. This adventure is one where earthlings learn how to overcome the lusts and passions of the fleshly cravings, often known as the seven deadly sins, and transform into spiritual beings by learning how to communicate and work with their Heavenly Father. It just so happens, God has provided a means, which we know as capitalism, so we can learn how to trust God and be creative rather than steal and destroy friendships and alienate acquaintances.

The eighth commandment is about people learning to be creative rather than stealing. Wherever you look in life you will find that creativity allows for expansion, whereas stealing (that is, taking other people's goods, rights and ideas away from them without their permission) brings about destruction. This destruction may result in tit-for-tat revenge or it might be the destruction of what was otherwise a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.

The eighth commandment is about warning people about the need to appreciate one another's efforts. For this is evident in what Jesus said in the parable of the talents. The person, who gave the talents in the first place, showed his appreciation of the efforts of those who created an increase in his wealth, but giving them more, and showering praise on them for their achievements.

The eighth commandment is about giving people a purpose in life rather than being bored because they are not able to find fulfillment in accomplishments. All too often, people who have no purpose live a miserable life rather than one which can be full of joy in overcoming obstacles and happiness because of being able to share meaning moments with friends and making new friendships.

The eighth commandment is about being generous and learning to share with other people. This is the opposite to taking, but people seem to think it is easy to be criminally-minded, rather than community-minded and give to help those who do not have the resources and knowledge required for them to succeed at the levels of the more fortunate. Throughout the Bible, there is compassion for the poor, but rather than having a centralized system of distribution like socialism and communism tried to introduce, God would prefer people to personally share their own wealth with the poor and take it upon themselves to be their brother's keeper. This is difficult for people to do, when their parents have set different standards, which do not encourage their children to help other people.

The eighth commandment is about having riches in heaven. It is one thing to be rich in this world, but not rich towards God. What God wants is for people to be rich towards him and rich in this world as well. This is one of the reasons why God has introduced the system of the tithe. It is amazing how people who tithe are blessed. They know that there is no need to steal but to learn how to trust God to enable them to be creative and have a life of adventure as they discover how to put the eternal principles of life into action.

True riches come when people learn what it means to have faith in God, which is the currency of heaven. The tithe is the means by which people are able to put God to the test and grow in faith towards God, and become rich in the eternal currency. You cannot steal faith. You can only get richer by learning how to become more faithful when exercising more faith towards God and in the eternal realm of the spirit.

*****

Most people interpret this commandment as "You shall not tell lies." This is not exactly what this commandment says.

When a person takes the witness box in a court of law, that person is asked to make an affirmation and declare by oath that they will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The witness box is for witnesses of an event, whereby the person in the box can testify to what was seen or heard. It is not the role of the witness to interpret what might have happened or what was meant by what was said. But this happens all too often, and many witnesses give an interpretation of events rather than what they actually saw or heard.

There is a saying that holds a lot of truth, which is worth remembering. It goes like this:

"I know you think you heard what it is that I said, but I am not sure that you realize that what you thought you heard me say is not exactly what I meant."

This can also be applied to what you see:

"I know you think you saw exactly what happened, but I am not sure whether you realize, that how you perceived what you thought you saw, is not exactly what happened."

All too often we interpret events rather than give an exact account of what was actually said, or what actually happened. An example of this is seen in police videos on the internet. Because you see with your own eyes what happened on the video, when police appear to be abusing their powers, you are convinced that they are in the wrong. However, what you saw on the video, and whether they are in the wrong may be two different matters. The reason for this is the video might only be telling a small part of the story, and not the preceding events that lead up to the snap-shot video recording. What these videos do is bear false witness against the police, when in fact the police are often apprehending violent and threatening offenders who might be high on drugs or dangerously armed, who have given every indication that the only way they are going to comply with police requests to calm down and be civil is only if they are restrained by force. Sometimes the force might seem excessive, but then, if the person is high on drugs, the person is unlikely to willingly comply with police requests. The only way to restrict the person from harming someone else is by using physical means to restrain the person. This may require the use of batons or stun guns or guns, depending on the situation and how dangerous and imminent the threat to other people's property and life might be.

To bear false witness against your neighbor means that you are actually making untrue claims about what your neighbor did or did not do. For instance, say you saw a woman go into your neighbor's house and come out one hour later, you could testify to this without bearing false witness. However, say your neighbor was a man and you claimed that he was having an affair with the woman; then you would be guilty of false witness, unless you knew this to be true. False testimony occurs when you go beyond saying what you actually saw and add something extra to the account.

Bearing false witness against your neighbor is a common problem among people. Without realizing what you might be saying, even when expressing an opinion, you can be bearing false witness; because even though what you say might be based on fact, your interpretation of what it means may be incorrect, and the person hearing what you say might take the interpretation as the truth, rather than being merely an opinion. When this occurs, you have broken the commandment. It is so easy to do.

The concept of bearing witness is integral to understanding what life is about, understanding God and the written word of God that bears witness to God's purpose for mankind.

What a false witness does is lay the grounds upon which a lie can be declared to be true. There are numerous untrue statements within Christian circles that form the basis of interpreting the Bible and what it means. One of these is that the Bible is the living Word of God. This is based on a scripture that says, "every scripture God-breathed" being translated or interpreted as "every scripture is God-breathed". Jesus himself said that the Bible has no effectual power. It merely bears witness to him.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life,.(John 5:39-40)

Many people fall prey to the false belief that by reading the Bible they have eternal life. Many other people believe that the Bible is the living Word of God instead of the written word of God, because they use a couple of twists in interpretation to justify their position. For instance, it is convenient to simply call the Bible the word of God rather than the written word of God. In fact, because people appreciate the value of the Bible, they often refer to affectionately as "the word" or "my word". There is nothing wrong with this, providing that this does not become a doctrine or a foundation upon which a certain translation of the Bible is declared "THE LIVING WORD OF GOD".

Some people teach Jesus Christ to be the Bible. This Jesus himself denies in the gospel of John chapter four, verse forty, as noted in the above mentioned quotation. This teaching is based on the verse in the book of Revelation:

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God (Rev. 19:11-13)

Now because the Bible is called the word of God, people wrongly declare that the Bible itself is the Living Word of God, or even Jesus Christ. This teaching is often based on the reference to Proverbs chapter 30 which asks whether the reader knows the name of the Son of God. In the above quoted scripture from the book of Revelation, we learn that the Son of God's name is "The Word of God".

The significance of Jesus being the Word of God goes further than this being his name. Jesus was the Word of God made flesh through whom everything that was created came into being. The first chapter of the gospel of John is very clear about this. Even the Ten Commandments came into being through the Word of God. But there is a major difference between the written word of God and the Living Word of God. However, those who believe in the message of the written word of God shall be saved. The message of the written word is God raises the dead, and forgives those who forgive others, and shows mercy to those who show mercy, and will justify those who have a hatred of evil and have faith in his promise of salvation and look for something better than what this world can offer; just like Abraham, as stated in the book of Hebrews chapter eleven, looked for a city not made of hands, and of whom, it is worth noting, by faith also partook in the bread and the wine, which was instituted as a rite at the last supper (Genesis 14:18-19).

It is evident that the Bible is not the Living Word of God, but it definitely bears witness to the Living Word of God. Because of this those who are persecuted on account of the Bible or the word of God are given the promise of reigning with Jesus Christ. These are those who do not succumb to the ways of the world and resist the temptations to do evil, but delight in doing what God requires. The book of Revelation states:

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years (Rev.20:4-6).

When Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount, he spoke of what are known as The Beatitudes. These are nine statements that provide conditions for being blessed. By being blessed it is assumed that these mean conditions that provide the basis of salvation. Two of the beatitudes refer to being persecuted: one on the account of Jesus sake, and the other on the account of righteousness. The above mentioned scripture from the book of Revelation tells us that by being a witness to Jesus unto death you will be saved, and by being a witness to the word of God, that is, righteousness sake, you will be saved. John the Baptist was not only a witness to Jesus, but a witness for righteousness sake, and he was persecuted and beheaded because of his witness.

By bearing witness to your neighbor, you are bearing witness to another, and this applies to God, the Heavenly Father, and to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and also to the written word of God. False witness is not tolerated by God. Hypocrites bear false witness to the Triune God and the written word. These are people who claim they belong to God, but are not. These are people who distort the scriptures and lead people away from Jesus Christ. The scriptures bear witness to Jesus. But groups like the Mormons point people away from Jesus Christ, even though they have within the Book of Mormon some extracts from the King James Bible taken out of the Book of Matthew. The Jehovah Witnesses also lead people away from Jesus Christ by claiming that their New World Translation is the Living Word and can save people. The Jehovah Witnesses, who produced their own version of the Bible, have even inserted words to various texts to mislead people into believing that they can be saved "in connection with the faith of Jesus Christ" rather than "through faith in Jesus Christ". Whether you like to admit it or not, this is bearing false witness against your neighbor.

This commandment does cover quite a number of facets of bearing false witness. Like all of the Ten Commandments the broader scheme of what is meant needs to be considered. In the book of Proverbs chapter 6, verses 16-19, we find there are six things the Lord hates,

1) haughty eyes,

2) a lying tongue,

3) hands that shed innocent blood,

4) a heart that devised wicked plans,

5) feet that are swift in running to evil,

6) a false witness, and

7) the one thing in particular that is an abomination to him; that is, one who sows discord among brethren.

Of the six things the Lord hates, a false witness is obviously addressed by this commandment. The lying tongue is easy to identify with telling lies as bearing false witness. Haughty eyes, shedding innocent blood, devising wicked plans and running to do evil, are not quite so obviously incorporated, whereas the abomination of sowing discord among people can be readily understood to incorporate bearing false witness. But each one comes under this commandment because bearing false witness will be included in the actions.

Haughty eyes belong to those who think they are superior to another person in some way. This might be because the person is born into a more wealthy family or because the person does not think he or she is as ignorant as the person whom they are looking down upon. It is so easy to think oneself superior to another. This could be for many reasons where prestige and privilege are afforded to people because of achievements, wealth, schooling, occupation, reputation, birthplace, residence, nationality, race, religion, association, membership and the like. This is a false witness because no human being is any better than any other human being, unless they have the power over death and are immortal. This is not to say that people cannot be looked up to because of their integrity, achievements and reputation; rather, what this means is that nobody has the right to look down on another person, because everybody came into this world naked and will take nothing out of it, except the record of how each one's life has been lived. Therefore it is a false witness against your neighbor to think that you are more worthy or better or superior than another person.

Shedding innocent blood requires a false witness. This was especially seen at the death of Jesus Christ. The Jews bore false witness against Jesus and accused him of violating the Law of God because he said he was the Son of God. The religious leaders wanted him crucified. When innocent blood is shed, there has to be a false witness otherwise the innocent blood would not be shed. Somebody has to convince the person with the power to kill an innocent person that the slaying is justified. When a person kills another person, that person has to believe that they are doing what is right and the person being slain is guilty of a crime that befits death. This can only occur when there is falsehood being perpetrated in some form, whether this is a misinterpretation of the facts or someone has sought to kill another person for a personal reason, and needs to bear false witness in order to justify the deed in the eyes of others.

Devising wicked plans requires someone to devise a scheme that will be given consent to by other people. Hitler devised a scheme whereby exterminating Jews would be beneficial for the German people. He concocted a political agenda and philosophy that appealed to the Germans of his day to perpetrate his wicked plans. Stalin was another who did the same; as have the many despots and dictators, the world over, done to ensure that they retain power over their jurisdiction. Devising wicked plans is not limited to the likes of Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, but also to leaders of democratic governments and business leaders of corporations and others who are in positions of power. Many accusations are dismissed as conspiracy theories that have no base, but Watergate caught out more than one person and there are numerous other wicked plans that are conceived in government circles and corporations designed to cheat the general public of the truth. To do this, they have to bear false witness against someone at some time in order to cover their tracks or justify their actions or reasons for their plans and interpretation of events.

Those who are a part of the twilight society are constantly running to do evil. These people are always seeking ways to defraud people of what is rightfully theirs. By making out that they are doing the public a favor, or are good citizens, you will find them associated with organized crime and so-called colorful figures. But at the first opportunity to perform some perverse evil act or condone some evil act, they will do it if the price is right. The seduction of society by pornography and drugs is an evil that is encouraged by those who are to benefit financially from these activities. However, many people in authority may not benefit directly by these activities, but they compromise their position of trust and power by taking bribes and turning a blind eye. It is impossible for this to occur without people bearing false witness somewhere along the line. Corruption does not survive if everybody shuns evil to do what is right for their neighbor.

The twilight society of organized crime and criminal activity requires people to bear false witness against their neighbor to survive, for often the best way to deflect an investigation into one's own activities is to cast aspersions about other people. Many "Mr Bigs" have been discovered as having been exalted as outstanding citizens in local communities as generous benefactors who fund community projects and other enterprises in the name of the public good from the proceeds of crime. More criminal activity is committed by repeat offenders than first time offenders, but when it comes to organized crime, there are some very smart operators who simply delight in sponsoring evil. The Libyan leader, Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, denied he was sponsoring evil atrocities around the world. However, when the American President Ronald Reagan ordered strategic bombing of three sites in Tripoli, including Gaddafi's own residence, terrorism around the world, at the time, which was becoming so frequent there were reports virtually every week, suddenly came to a halt.

A false witness can be anybody who claims they saw something that didn't happen or anyone who makes a false claim about anything at all. In the book of Deuteronomy there is a caution issued about taking the testimony of one person as gospel, especially when it comes to laying a charge against another person.

"One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16“If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17“then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18“And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19“then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. 20“And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21“Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 23:15-21)

The message of the Bible is very much do unto others as you would have others do unto yourself. As far as God is concerned this applies not only to loving your neighbor as yourself, but also when it comes to bearing false witness against your neighbor. God's law is just. There is no justice when people are let off the hook for putting other people through agonizing situations and terror. This can happen when people are accused wrongfully of a crime and have to endure public hostility and ostracism because of someone's false accusation. Because of this, God decreed that anyone who accuses someone of an act of unlawfulness needs to have corroborating evidence. The law recognizes this and one person's word against another person is usually not enough to convict a person of a crime. In the event that someone is falsely accused of a crime they did not do, and are convicted because of false testimony, it might be small comfort for the innocent person who is sentenced to be punished, but God says he will avenge the injustice. In Isaiah 61 we learn that God cares and will not forget the sorrows of the innocent:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn ,(Isaiah 61-1,2).

Many like to say that the God of the Christians is different to the God of the Jews because He is offers grace upon grace, forgiving the sinner as many times as he says he is sorry; well, the book of Hebrews says God has a limit to his grace and

'"Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord' (Heb. 10:30).

Nobody gets away; God gets everyone in the end. Throughout the book of Proverbs, the book of wisdom, this is very clear. People often call this karma, but it is merely a principle of God's law. What you sow, you will reap, and when a false witness accuses another of something, the very thing that person has accused the innocent of doing, will in all probability come upon that person; if not the exact thing, the consequences will be the same.

There is a video of an African pastor who was dead for four days and came back to life after the undertaker had begun preparing him for burial. What is particularly interesting about this incident is the pastor was taken by angels to a place called heaven and then to a place called hell. In hell, he saw people suffering, wailing and gnashing their teeth, with some even eating their own flesh, which would grow back after each bite. The angels told him that each person is reliving all the evil they did on Earth. The pastor was told that he would be going to hell also, if he were not going back to Earth, because of his own false witness of preaching but not practicing forgiveness. Evidently, what you sow, you will also reap in eternity.

A lying tongue is so common that many people today are unable to tell the difference between when they are telling a lie or the truth. A lie may be true, but it is also a falsehood, and never the truth. One man I knew would tell a lie to boost his ego so often that he would convince himself that he was telling the truth and he would say, "May God strike me down dead, right now, if I am not telling the truth." The only person he was fooling was himself. The T.V. host David Letterman has often said, "Honest to God" just before telling something that is untrue as a part of his joke routine; somehow this is supposed to make the joke funnier. Politicians are renowned for telling lies. Probably the most famous lie told by a politician was when a President of American said,

"Read my lips. I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

In January, 2001, this President Clinton stated,

"I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely, but I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish this goal and am certain my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false,"

This is called twisting the truth by some, true lies by others, and just simply being a liar and a deceiver by others. Actually, Jesus said that those who lie only do what their father the devil does.

One of the difficulties that people have when trying not to lie is when they are asked to tell what are known as white lies. These are purportedly harmless lies that are told to avoid embarrassment or to avoid talking to someone or having to decline someone's request. Often employees are asked by their bosses to tell someone they are not there or a household member might be asked to do the same. Because such lies do not do any harm they are called white lies, everybody seems to be guilty of telling a white lie at some time.

There is another issue that crops up and this is concealing the truth from being revealed. Concealing the truth can simply mean that you are not going to tell people the truth and say so. Or you can tell people some of the truth and not all the truth and let them try and figure out the rest of the truth for themselves.

God does not lie, but He conceals truth from us. Jesus suggested that his disciples should do the same also when he said "not to give dogs what is holy" or "throw pearls before swine".

Jesus also made the statement that his disciples need to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). The difficulty with this statement is the first serpent mentioned in the Bible was a deceiver and is also known as Satan, the Devil, who a liar and father of lies. However, concealing the truth and lying are two different things.

For instance, if your are questioned by the police or government authorities about an alleged criminal offence, it might be wise not to be up front about what you were doing, otherwise you could find yourself being misinterpreted, especially in the case of mistaken identity. A wise person begins asking questions rather than making statements until it is clear what the authorities are investigating exactly. I once spent six hours under interrogation before being released without being charged, due to lack of evidence. The reason I was intensely interrogated was because I made statements about what I was doing the day before rather than asking questions when I was mistaken for somebody else who happened to look similar to me and was falsely accused of being a rapist who committed a sexual assault on a young woman in a park near where I lived. You see, I had thought the police were talking about a misunderstanding that had occurred the night before between myself and another person regarding a girl we both knew, and immediately I told them what happened the night before, but the police took this as evidence that I was the man they wanted. The police also created false scenarios in order to confuse me and fit me up.

After that occasion, I wised-up and, when on another occasion I was wrongfully accused of fraud and deception and had been taken into a police station for questioning, where some intimidating police behavior suggested that I was about to be beaten up to get some so-called truth out of me. I made sure that I did not say anything more than answer their questions without adding any information for them to get fancy with. As a result I was released very quickly, because there were no grounds to the accusations.

On another occasion, when I was before the magistrate on a trumped-up charge of physically and psychologically abusing my children by a government authority, the government representative pushing the charges stated, when in the court witness box, that "this man is the worst kind of person because he not only believes in God but also believes the Bible is actually true." The magistrate dismissed the charge on the basis that there was no evidence of physical or psychological abuse of my children, merely hear-say and misconceptions by false witnesses.

On a few other occasions when police officers and, even, government authorities, have tried to frame me, by being wise as a serpent, without lying, I have avoided the harrowing experience I had the time I was falsely accused of being a rapist who sexually assaults women in parks.

It is because of misinterpretations, misunderstandings and public servants seeking to get another notch in their belt to boost their career prospects from easy targets that Jesus warned his disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Dishonest people, unknowingly influenced by the father or lies, will resort to anything to discredit people who seek the truth and desire to do the will of God.

One way a person can conceal the truth without telling a lie is by speaking in faith about something that has not yet happened but you believe will happen. The evidence is that God will honor those who are faithful in seeking Him by being obedient to His voice.

Paul Yonggi Cho is a Korean Pastor who founded a congregation that grew to over forty thousand people in the early sixties. The church leaders purchased land and were building a church to accommodate the growing congregation. However, there came a time when they did not have sufficient money to pay a loan on a mortgage and the bank was going to foreclose. Cho got to see the head manager of the bank, having told the banking officers that he was the king's son (the King being God)--had the banking officers asked to speak to his father, circumstances would have become very interesting. Then he told the bank manager that if he did not foreclose the loan, he would deliver his bank some forty thousand new bank accounts. This Cho said by faith. Had Cho been asked to produce evidence that he could deliver those bank accounts at the time, he would have been unable to do so. However, Cho was believing that he might be able to influence his congregation to all change banks and open accounts at the bank that held the mortgage. The bank manager believed him and wrote out a cheque to cover the debt, so the loan would not be foreclosed. Had Cho told him what some people would call the absolute truth about his current circumstances, the bank manager would have not covered the payment and foreclosed the loan. The important thing here is Cho did not lie; rather he spoke the truth about what he believed he could do with God's help. Cho was being as wise as a serpent. There is a difference between concealing the truth, and speaking in faith, and telling lies.

One thing that cannot be done in faith is sowing seeds of discord among brethren. Sowing seeds of discord is usually done when a person casts aspersions about someone's integrity or intentions or rights in a relationship. This is the work of the devil. When Eve was in the garden, the Devil used this method of deceit to cause her to doubt Adam's integrity and, as a result, she did what God had said they were not to do. This is an abomination to God because this is how sin entered into the world of men.

Whenever men and women get together and form a community, the one thing that is required for a peaceful existence is a harmonious relationship between everyone. This requires that everyone is appreciated and respected for their contributions and recognized for the roles they fill within the community. However, when somebody suggests that a certain person might not be doing their job correctly, or finds fault with another person and expresses that to other people; that person is sowing seeds of discord. The fault might be something very minor but is construed as a weakness in a leader or person with some responsibility, but it is sufficient to create doubt about the person's worthiness for doing what they are doing, and a seed of discord is sown.

Often the seed of discord is fed to people in the form of gossip. Gossip originally meant to talk about glad tidings and good things that were happening to each other within a community. Unfortunately, people who are discontented about the ways things are going or the way somebody might perform a certain function will express this and sow seeds of doubt in doing so. These seeds of doubt are often unintentionally sown, but when a person expresses dissatisfaction about what is happening, this is an expression of discord within a community. Further damage to the community is avoided when the matter is addressed and aspersions are not cast upon anyone's intentions of being anything but above board.

This seed of discord can occur between a husband and a wife. It can occur within families between brothers and sisters, or father and son, or mother and daughter, or any family members. It happens often in places of employment and within local community groups, political organizations and churches. Yet it is when people dwell together in unity, there God has decided to pronounce his blessing.

The blessing of God is particularly given where brothers and sisters come together to worship Him in spirit and truth. Tragically, many congregations are split because of the seed of discord gets a foot in the door and the work of the devil is fostered once more. This happens because, rather than seeking the truth, aspersions or a false witness are created among a congregation of believers by some comment, and fostered by some malcontent with an unbelieving heart, or someone who has a root of bitterness within them for some perceived wrong. This will not happen over something that can be proven in the now like forgiveness and reconciliation and the fruits of repentance. Rather, it will happen over a simple thing as an interpretation of scripture, and more often than not, it will be over something that cannot be proven in the present time, such as future events, or how the earth was created, or notions about the Godhead, or what really happens at baptism, or some teaching on dispensationalisn, or what is the correct model of church government, or some other biblical interpretation that cannot really be proven right or wrong. All this is an abomination to God.

Bearing false witness against one's neighbor can be done intentionally or unintentionally. More often than not it is done unintentionally, but for evil to exist in this world, people need to continue to be bearing false witness at some level. It might start with telling white lies, and these might seem harmless. But once the gossip starts as a result of those white lies, then the seeds of discord are sown and doubt about people's integrity starts to creep into a community. Lying itself might not be in itself a breaking of this commandment, but it leads to the breaking of this commandment, because when people start telling lies, it is not hard to progress to bearing false witness against someone and then against their neighbor.

President Clinton thought he could get away with being lawful and giving false testimony by denying what he did. This is because he reframed his understanding of what he called sexual relations. Fortunately for him, nobody was falsely accused of having done anything wrong. While Clinton was not directly falsely accusing anybody of anything, he was suggesting that he was being falsely accused by those who were making accusations against him. The line was blurred and, in the eyes of many, Clinton has no credibility. While others see him as telling true lies and like the fact that he was not impeached when President, as Nixon was, and respect him for this. This is because those who are governed by the ruler of this world, the prince of darkness, do not live in the light, but darkened light of twilight.

Twilight is what confuses many people. The twilight is that period where the sun has gone down but you can see as if it is day. Morally, you know what is right to do, and you can clearly make good decisions. But when you know what is right to do and you do not do it, your guilt remains. Jesus was very clear about this. There are many people today who live with a good understanding of what is right and what is wrong, and know they should not give false testimony but try to get away with it. In fact, quite a few are so adept at giving false testimony they are able to get away with it for a long time. Jesus said of these people:

21“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.22“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:21:24).

When speaking of mammon, you can include power and worldly prestige in this, as well as wealth, because those who treasure these things in their hearts, do not treasure the truth nor the inheritance that God has provided for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The light that is darkness is twilight. Twilight can deceive people into thinking that they are actually walking in the light, when in fact they are not. This is the deception that occurs from following the ways of the world and being heralded as knowledgeable, even accredited with understanding, insight and wisdom. But God has chosen what is foolish to confound those who think they are wise, by sending Jesus to die on a cross, so the world could be saved, but knowing only those who are honest enough to admit they live a futile live on this earth, will accept the free gift of eternal life in Christ in the hope of something better than merely being born only to die.

You may not intentionally be bearing false witness against your neighbor, but unintentionally, if you exalt anybody above God, or put anybody before God, you are bearing false witness against God, by saying that God is not as worthy as what you put in his place. It is written in the book of wisdom, that only fools say there is no God.

 (c) 2007 Happy Riches