And finally, the last two on the list of “The TOP 10 WAYS HUMANS MESS UP THE IMAGE OF GOD IN THEIR LIVES.”
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
Jesus said in John 8:44 (while talking to a bunch of religious guys) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
I have taken on many of the characteristics of my earthly father (I get teased about this a lot). But it’s not funny to realize that one of the characteristics from my relationship with my former spiritual father, Satan, is that I speak untruths. I can stretch the truth to make ME look good. I can shrink the truth to make others look bad. I can distort the truth, hide the good, expose the bad, and of course, just simply speak a “bold-faced lie.” I used to do this CONSTANTLY before Christ; lying was truly my native tongue. Being deceitful with my speech DOES CREEP IN from time to time even now, like a bad habit that is ingrained in my old nature. Holy Spirit – show me every time I’m slipping here!
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The American economy is built on “keeping up”! Solomon said that “… all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another” (Ecclesiastes 4:4). Debt is accrued by simply buying more than we can afford and is the result of stepping over the bounds of the last commandment. When you think about it, going around the mirror of the Ten Commandments is truly like going in a circle – “do not covet” and “have no other gods before Me” are essentially saying the same thing! RUN AWAY from the love of stuff! In the parable of the sower, Jesus pointed out that, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful”
(Matthew 13:22). And Paul rephrased these warnings in the positive mode to Timothy when he said, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10). Write out an honest confession here! The mirror DOES NOT LIE! What kind of stuff are you wanting or striving for that is keeping you from God or distracting you from great relationships with others?
You shall have no other gods before me.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”