“Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Proverbs 24:28,29).

There is a startling example in Scripture of someone who was a witness against a neighbor without cause. King Ahab wanted the vineyard of his neighbor, Naboth. Naboth refused, so Ahab’s wife Jezebel devised a plot to steal it. Her plan was to proclaim a fast . . . “And set two men, sons of Belial, before him (Naboth), to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die” (I Kings 21:10,13). Lying about Naboth signed his death warrant. “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15). One can understand why the ninth commandment is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

A lawyer once asked Jesus Christ, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). Jesus’ answer is the well-known story of the Good Samaritan. Then He asked the question, “Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” The lawyer answered that the neighbor was the one who showed mercy (Luke 10:36,37). The neighbor was the Good Samaritan, not the injured traveler. He was designated a neighbor because of his actions, not because of his geographical location in proximity to the injured traveler. A neighbor can be assured that he “dwelleth securely” by us (Proverbs 3:29) if we fulfill the royal law and love our neighbor as ourself (James 2:8). CJH