Musing 63

A scary thing we often do is isolate our understanding of sin in order to make a clearer hierarchy of how bad a given sin is- for example, murder is worse than lying.

But one of the ways Scripture challenges us is the linkage of various sins - greed is idolatry, lust of the heart is adultery, unjust anger is murder.

But one of the most common examples is that lying is as murder. Specifically in the Scriptural context, the death penalty required 2 or more eyewitnesses, and so bearing false witness quite literally meant that lives ended by one’s words.

And today, what are the ways in which lies cost lives? How many times have we seen corporations, in the pursuit of profit, lie through their teeth about something, even when the evidence is incontrovertible? Just a few examples that come to mind are the opioid crisis, Love canal, and the Boeing design flaws.

So let us be slow to minimize how our words can impact others. We never know when they may impact lives beyond our knowing.

Of course, I can already hear the object “but what about Rahab?!” and yes, there are times when we ought to lie to save lives. But we should always be careful in so doing and not presume that we have infallibility.