Opinion : Pastor\'s Blog: Truth and Kindness: Living by the Eighth Commandment

In his Small Catechism (yes, there is a Large Catechism also) Dr. Martin Luther wrote short explanations for the basic teachings of the Christian Faith. He intended that parents should use this book to teach their children the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and what they mean for daily life.

Luther understood that every commandment has a positive and a negative application. That is, each commandment tells what we should and should not do. For instance, the commandment, “you shall not kill” (also properly rendered, “you shall not murder”) at face value means that one must not engage in actions that intentionally and unjustly cause the death of a human being. However, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount interprets this commandment in terms of respect for the wellbeing of others and makes it a matter of the heart as well as action. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment…”

Luther interprets the negative (you shall not) and the positive (you shall) aspects of the commandment this way: “We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all life’s needs.” In similar fashion Luther says “you shall not steal” includes the further obligation to “help [others] improve and protect their property and income.”

So we come to the Eight Commandment. Please note that different Christian traditions number the Ten Commandments differently. Lutheran and Roman Catholics agree on the numbering, and most others agree on a different way. It’s all there in both ways, just organized a little differently. I am Lutheran, so I know the Eighth Commandment as, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Luther explains it this way: “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.” Luther goes on to say, “Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.” (Quotes from the Small Catechism translation by Timothy J. Wengert, Augsburg Fortress.)

Most people get the first part, although we may find even that hard enough. The second (positive) application seems sometimes beyond our ability to comprehend. How easily we seize upon the missteps of others to run them into the ground. How we relish in gossip, especially when we know it is true and, therefore, feel quite justified in repeating it. How quick we are to assign the worst of motives to the actions of others when we really don’t know why they did or said what they did. How eager we are to see the reputations of others diminished. How reluctant we are to reserve judgment until we have the facts, and reluctant even more, when the facts support a negative judgment, to be generous in our words. How remiss we are in speaking well of others. How we refuse to “interpret everything they do in the best possible light,” or as another translation of Luther’s German has it, “to explain his [or her] actions in the kindest way.”

I was taught that this commandment is about “truth and kindness.” The need for truth is obvious and backed up in civil law. Kindness is more elusive and can only come from hearts and minds willing to seek good for others, that are guided by what Jesus said is the second most important of only two commandments, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The recent barrage of comments on this website, the current political climate, and the general lack of restraint demonstrate both the need for and the difficulty of this second mile application. For those times when we just cannot rise to this higher level God commands, perhaps we can be guided old adage, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”