“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 command 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 ourselves (James 2:8). CJH