An abomination to the Lord
The eighth commandment of God is: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. – Exodus 20:16
By the eighth commandment we are commanded to speak the truth in all things, but especially in what concerns the good name and honor of others. “Wherefore, put away lying and speak truth each one with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.” - Ephesians 4:25
The eighth commandment forbids lies, rash judgment, detraction, calumny, and the telling of secrets we are bound to keep. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” -- Proverbs 12:22
A person commits the sin of rash judgment when, without sufficient reason, he believes something harmful to another's character. “Before thou inquire, blame no man.” -- Ecclesiasticus 11:7
A person commits the sin of detraction when, without a good reason, he makes known the hidden faults of another. “A good name is better than great riches, and good favor is above silver and gold.” -- Proverbs 22:1
A person commits the sin of calumny or slander when by lying he injures the good name of another. “Devise not a lie against thy brother, neither do the like against thy friend. -- Ecclesiasticus 7:13
Labels: Scripture
posted by Fr LWG at 1:46 PM
5 Comments:
All I can do is sigh when I read this. ... At the end of each day I do a kind of inventory of my thoughts, words and deeds to make sure I have not -- even inadvertantly -- done things like this. ... It makes me sad when people tell lies, gossip, try to tarnish someone's reputation. It also makes me angry. (That is why I sigh.)
Thank you Father! I'm wrestling with a problem right now and in order to talk to the person involved, I'll need to stop and think, to ensure that I am not making a rash judgement.
That is a very difficult commandment.
If everyone would make a good examination of conscience every day we would have a better world.
A person commits the sin of detraction when, without a good reason, he makes known the hidden faults of another. “A good name is better than great riches, and good favor is above silver and gold.” -- Proverbs 22:1
Um. Yeah. Me. Today. Are you doing confessions tomorrow?
Detraction can be very subtle and difficult to root out. It hides in places we don't think to look.
When I first began blogging, I naturally carried the hot stories which other Catholic blogs were featuring.
After a short time, I began to wonder if I was engaging in detraction with some of what I was repeating.
I spoke with a priest whose order works out of my parish and shared with him some of the kinds of things I was including in my posts. He expressed disappointment and suggested that some things are best left for adoration and prayer, not publication.
Over time, I changed the tone of my blog and no longer carried the "scandal of the day" in the Church.
I now regularly seek counsel on material and have chosen to take the high road on posting.
We Catholic bloggers need to truly consider if what we are passing along is a form of gossip or detraction.
I deleted links to some of the most contentious Catholic blogs which broadcast a high level of dirty laundry from every remote corner of the Church. It is one thing to attack the position of a dissident cleric or religious. It's quite another to attack the person in a manner Our Lord never would have done. He may have handled certain people harshly, but he had the authority to do so, and did it with love - not humor, sarcasm, and the like.
I wish more priests would talk about gossip and detraction, and the e-dimensions. How much is passed along in email and on websites? Ditto with rash judgments and calumny. People need examples in order to see.
Thanks for your post.
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