When we come before God, what bragging rights do we have? The person with the highest IQ in the world and the infant born yesterday are on a level playing field compared to what God knows. But this is more than acknowledging the distance between Creator and creation. We do not have to rely on our intelligence and abilities to save or give us significance. We do not have to know all there is to know because we are known and belong to a God who does.

Adam and Eve were tempted to believe, “You will be like God,” and that lie has been deceiving us ever since. We may not self-identify as deities demanding sacrifices and overt worship, but we may fall for subtler versions. One variation combines ideas that are very common today:

I have no limits.
I am sufficient on my own.
My worth depends on achieving the above.

Motivational merchandise tells us, “Wish it. Dream it. Do it!,” which sounds remarkably like the prosperity gospel. But wishes and dreams require resources that can run out. Aspirations demand skill and talent that may never be ours. We live in time and space with bodies and minds that are finite.
We have also inherited the cultural myth of the self-made man or woman. A rags-to-riches tale of success where it is possible to make it on our own without owing anything to anyone else. This teaches us that dependence is weakness and a source of shame. But total self-sufficiency is physically impossible for human beings. A baby is born helpless. Aging can return us to a needy condition. And regardless of age, what do we have that we have not received?[1]
God is the only being sufficient in himself. God is omniscient, knowing all things because he is their creator and source. We were meant to live in happy dependence upon him for every aspect of our lives – material and immaterial. Therefore, it should be no surprise that falling for the lie of no limits and no dependence is exhausting. Just look at the different sectors of society where people of all ages are experiencing burn out because of the pressure to live up to impossible ideals. We cannot do it all. We cannot know it all.
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We do not earn our salvation or even maintain our standing before God. Rather this commandment now becomes a way to honor the One who saved us and testify of his goodness out of love. Because of what Christ has done, stony hearts that formerly suppressed the truth have been replaced with hearts of flesh that learn to love God and his Word. The Holy Spirit is at work, changing our desires and renewing our minds to esteem others in our attitudes and speech. And when we do sin, we can run to Christ as our only hope. 

At face value, the 9th commandment could be read as merely a prohibition against committing perjury or lying under oath. However, this commandment encompasses so much more. According to both the Westminster Shorter and the Baptist catechisms, “The ninth commandment requires the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man, and of our own and our neighbor’s good name, especially in witness bearing.” This “promoting of truth” is fleshed out even further in Q&A 144 and 145 of the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), which discuss the duties required and sins prohibited by this commandment. It leaves no stone unturned regarding the thoughts and heart motives that fuel our speech in addition to the actual words themselves. “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) We will also stand before God on judgment day and give an account for every idle word, which is convicting and sobering. (Matt. 12:36)
When I first read these sections in the WLC, I immediately thought of the toxicity of social media and the ease with which fake news is spread far and wide. If there ever was an environment that spurned the 9th commandment and encouraged its breaking, this is it. But while it is easy to point the finger out there, I need to ask myself, not if, but where have I broken the 9th commandment? Are my words motivated by a desire for my neighbor’s best, or am I cold and indifferent? Are my assessments impartial with every attempt to portray the situation as accurately as possible to the best of my ability, or are they biased to put myself and my interests in a more favorable light?
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