Eighth Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

What is this? We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead, we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.

The above explanation to the Eighth Commandment is from The Small Catechism by Martin Luther. Some of us had to memorize these explanations during confirmation classes—but that’s a conversation for another time.

I struggle with keeping the Eighth Commandment. It is not that I intentionally go around gossiping about other people or try to find fault with others’ words and actions. But it is easy, at times, to get caught up in conversations that are less than positive about another person. It is easy not to speak up in defense of someone else. It is easy to interpret another's actions in a negative light. It is easy to stay silent when you know you should speak up.

So I struggle with keeping the Eighth Commandment. Maybe you do as well. It seems that every Lent I make a commitment to say kinder words and to really interpret my neighbor's actions in the best possible light. But then I get on Facebook or watch the Oscars or overhear a bit of gossip and the struggle heats up! I find myself on my knees, confessing yet again that I have not kept the commandment as well as I intended.

Fortunately, God already knows this about me, and you. God knows we cannot keep this commandment (or the other 9). God knows that we fail and fall short. And God loves us anyway! These commandments help us to live together in community, they do not help us earn God's love.

So for the sake of our common life, I will try to keep the Eighth Commandment (and the other 9). But I will do it knowing that even when I fail, I am still loved and redeemed by the One who never fails.

Contributed by Tracie
Monday February 25, 2013
Liturgical Year C: Week 13
Liturgical Color: Purple
Sunday Gospel reading:
Second Sunday in Lent