What is the meaning of the Ninth Commandment to a college student?

The basic premise behind the ninth enactment is law, whether it is true statement in deed, truthful speech or fair(a) thoughts. If we take the meaning of the commandment further and lay out the address to mean that a soulfulness should non cunning, then we keep understand better how this commandment might impact our daily life, especi aloney in todays modern environment where deception, and unobjectionable lies appear to be cond wizd by our western society. The ninth commandment requires for all(prenominal) one-on-one to be honest in his or her dealings with a nonher(prenominal)s, provided analysis of the term trickery reveals that there is more to existence truthful than accurate reporting.The Oxford modernistic English Dictionary (1996) defines truth as being the quality or state of being true or truthful (p. 1114) and truthful as habitually telling the truth (p.1114). By comparison the definition of the term lying in the same dictionary is listed as stop of a liedeceitful, false (p.595) where Lie is described as an intentionally false statement (p. 573). From these interpretations it is clear to reach the conclusion that the definition of both truth and lying is steeped more in the intention of the individual rather than individual acts or words spoken.Brevard Childs (1974) believed that the original fancy behind the ninth commandment was a legal one, rather than an ethical one, in that he translated the original text to mean that a person should not tell lies in a court of law (Childs, 1974), however the more modern base on the meaning of the commandment appears to be related to individual accountability and a desire to cash in ones chips a life of truth (St. bathroom in the Wilderness, 2001, online).There argon m whatever different ways a person suffer lie including withholding the truth, slandering other person or action, or telling ashen lies and despite ethical discussions to the contrary all of these actions argon consider ed untruthful from a biblical perspective. For manikin in Leviticus 1911, we argon told, you shall not steal, you shall not deal falsely, and you will not lie to one another (NRSV). Later in the same chapter we are again told, you shall not go around as a slanderer among your great deal(Leviticus 1916). These are just two of the copious number of biblical references that can be found that encourage each individual to be a truthful person, but how pertinent is this truth in modern society?Terence Fretheim (1991) interpreted the ninth commandment to convey a radix for community and sociable living. He wrote, unless there is an arena in which there is ordinary confidence that social reality will be reliably described and reported (Fretheim, p.848), the concept of community could not exist. Blatnik (2004) corroborates that idea and goes on to say, there is no community on the face of public lies (p.3). Blatnik (2004) also mentions verses in Ephesians that mind towards the idea tha t we are bound to each other in a way that a lie in one place, a lie at one level, a lie by one person, is like a ripple in a pond the whole pond is ultimately abnormal (p.3).Walter Brueggemann (1994) wrote in his defy that the ninth commandment is a recognition that community life is not workable unless there is an arena in which there is public confidence that social reality will be reliably described and reported (p.26). He believed that not only was truth an important bust of a just and fair legal system, but that truth should be evident in all forms of public interaction. For example the modern idea that skewing the truth in the advertisement of products in mass media forums is an accepted break off of society, but essentially if public truth cannot reflect public reality then an important part of society is undermined and we as members of this society tend, over time, to distrust the messages we swallow from mass media sources.In his book Commandments of Compassion, Kee nan (1999) declare that as a society we pick up to create a space where truth can be told (p.4). He believes that truth should be evident in personal relationships, family relationships and public dealings we have with other members of our community. unfortunately this level of truth can only be created if all members of society were totally honest with each other and as it is not possible for us as human beings, to read the thoughts of another person, it is lots difficult to tell if a person we are dealing with has the same commitment towards living a truthful life as we ourselves would like to have.John Timmerman (1997) also wrote about how to be truthful in all of our relationships, both personal and public. He emphasized the different ways we as individuals could achieve this level of verity and suggested that if we were careful in the words we spoke so that we did not give another person the disparage impression, and combined this with attentive listening to another perso n, then these actions could increase our own individual ability to be truthful at all times. Timmerman also noted that the idea of promises were almost a sacred act, in that as we believe in the promises from God, so we should ensure that we only distinguish promises we can keep (Timmerman, 1997).According to John Ritenbaugh (1997) lying is rife in our communities. His article mentions surveys that show that students lie to their parents about 50% of the time, that people in personal relationships lie about 30 percent of the time to their partner, while 12% of four jillion Americans in the job market had lost their jobs because they had misleading information on their resumes (Ritenbaugh, 1997). He suggested that the reason lying was so prevalent in our society was because we tend to use other terms for lying, such as exaggerating or inaccuracy to describe the untruths.We seem as a society to accept that politicians are up to no good, that a salesman is probably putting us on and that big corporations must be doing something illegal because they make so much money. The fact that these beliefs have permeated our social fabric to such a degree that these thoughts are commonplace shows just how little truth we expect from others in our daily departs. This fact alone would suggest that because we do not expect others to tell us the truth, we might be less likely to be truthful ourselves. It would seem that much of society is establish on the idea that everyone else is doing it so therefore we can absolve ourselves of being accountable and honest in our own dealings with others.The Bible gives us innumerable examples of what it means to be truthful. Deuteronomy 324 says He is the rock, His work is perfect for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice righteous and upright is He (NSRV). The teachings from the Nazarene also see to it ideas on how to be truthful, especially in terms of the role model he became for other people. Jesus was an example of a person who deceased by his words on a daily basis, and it is through his example that we can see what changes we might sine qua non to put in place in our own lives, to be a better and more truthful person.A Christian student goes to a Christian college with the expectation that the people who share the campus with them are going to live by the same standards as themselves. One of these expectation is that the other students, the tutors and even the administration staff of the college will all want to abide by the ten commandments and sometimes it can be bit of a shock to us to find that not only are there countless people in general society that fail to live by the commandments on a daily basis, but that some of the people in the college are also failing to live by the juicy standards set by Jesus Christ.However, it is my personal opinion that when it comes to attendance at a Christian educational institution that rather than sentence or alienate those students who might lie to us, or fail the commandments in some way or another, that we need to be forgiving and use the authoritative Christian influence of the college to help understand why some people find it difficult to be truthful in voice and deed and encourage these people back onto a Christian elbow room in life. We need to heed the words by Keenan (1999) mentioned earlier that we need to create the space where a person can feel comfortable enough to tell the truth.One of the main reasons people lie to others is based on their own fear of being estimated by another person. Most of us feel the need to make a good impression on others, so we feel we are not doing any harm by just omitting a fewer pertinent facts, or telling a few white lies to make ourselves appear better in a public light. Although the intention behind these actions may not be malicious, any form of untruth is a lie, and the only way we can be truthful people, and keep the ninth commandment is to be totally honest in all our dealings, both personal and professional.As students we are all well aware of how easy it is to be tempted to appear better in the way we behave, especially among our peers (Christian and non-Christian), but as Christians we are also aware of how important it is for us to live by higher standards than other non-Christian people might be prepared to live. We need to remember that we are all sinners in some way or another, which is why I think that it is so important, when we do become aware that one of our Christian classmates is having problems being honest in their dealings, that we help rather than condemn him. For example one of our classmates might be telling white lies to his parents because his grades are not as high as they should be.Even though we all learn the importance of being truthful in all of our thoughts, words and actions, it is not our place to ignore or shun that failing student it is not our place to judge him. Rather we should help him in spiritual w ays by studying scriptures that are appropriate for the situation, and in practical ways by offering to help him study harder so that he is able to get a grade he can be proud of. Blatnik (2004) told us that just one lie by one individual in a community can affect the whole community, but if we as Christian individuals hold fast to our own truths then through the power of prayer and ground we can help our fellow students stay true to the teachings of Jesus Christ.The ninth commandment tells us we should not bear false witness against our neighbour what it is asking us to do is to make truth the invention for our lives here on earth. Only when we are completely truthful in all of our dealings with other people around us can we have an honest relationship with God, and that fact applies to all of us, not only as Christians, not only as college students, but also as members of the human race. ReferencesBlatnik, D.J., (2004). The ninth Commandment. Second Presbyterian Church Sermons , accessed online at http//www.2prelex.org/S040418.htm October 2, 2005Brueggemann, W., (1994). The Book of Exodus, in The New Interpreters Bible, Vol. 1. Nashville Abingdon PressChilds, B.S., (1974). The book of Exodus A critical, theological commentary. Louisville Westminster Press.Fretheim, T.E., (1991). Exodus Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching, Louisville John Knox Press.Keenan, J.F., (1999). Commandments of Compassion. Franklin, WI S.J. Sheed & WardOxford Modern Dictionary (Second Edition), (1996), New York Oxford University Press.Ritenbaugh, J.W., (December 1997). The Ninth Commandment, Forerunner, Personal. Charlotte, NC Church of the Great GodSt. John in the Wilderness online (2001). The Ten Commandments 9. You shall not answer against your neighbor as a false witness. Accessed at http//www.stjohnadulted.org October 2 2005.Timmerman, J.H., (1997). Do we still need the Ten Commandments? A fresh look at Gods Laws of Love. Minneapolis Augsburg