Proverbs 14:25 "A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies."
One of my favorite real crime tv shows is called, See No Evil as it documents catching criminals through the use of video evidence. The star witnesses in this program are not people but cameras on buildings. I appreciate the documentaries because the inanimate witnesses are always reliable and never deceitful. Because the digital witnesses never lie and never change their story, justice is served to both the perpetrator and the victim. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system of Solomon's day didn't have these sleepless observers but instead relied heavily upon human eyewitnesses. Human eyewitnesses are much less reliable because they're much more forgetful and sadly, they tend to be evil.
There was an art then and there is an art today in detecting deceit in an eyewitness. One of the reasons I like watching, See No Evil is to learn how detectives use video evidence to detect subtle lies in witnesses or suspects in order to eventually solve crimes. Solomon himself was given the ability to divinely detect deceit in suspects or witnesses as evidenced in the tragic rollover case of the deceased infant in 1 Kings 3. Because witnesses were so crucial to the justice system in Solomon's day and because human witnesses could be so deceitful, Judaism required more than one witness in cases where the death penalty was on the table (Deuteronomy 17:6). Honesty in court cases was so important within Jewish society that one of the Ten Commandments declared, "Thou shalt not bear false WITNESS against thy neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). To help witnesses take their moral responsibilities seriously, God required the two or three witnesses in a trial where a person was found guilty of a crime punishable by death to be the first to cast stones at the guilty (Deuteronomy 17:7). He wanted witnesses to bear the responsibility of their testimony. If they were going to truthfully testify that a person committed a crime, God wanted those true witnesses to be prepared to justly punish that person for that crime. If they were going to falsely testify that a person committed a crime, God wanted those false witnesses to be prepared to unjustly punish that person for no crime. It's one thing to lie about an innocent man; it's another thing to kill an innocent man. This Old Testament Jewish law didn't prevent lying but it was intended to deter lying in criminal cases.
Witnesses lied then for the same reasons they lie now - to help themselves in some way or with some person. The only real reason people lie is to avoid suspicion, guilt or loss. Witnesses twist the truth, distort the facts or flat-out lie to help themselves. If they're lying to protect a friend or family member, it's self-serving. If a witness lies to condemn an innocent soul, it is done to get some advantage over that innocent person either on the job, in a relationship or in a financial dispute. If a witness lies about what he or she saw, that witness is trying to either save themselves or someone they care about. A false witness thinks his deceit will save him from some sort of loss. A deceitful witness believes his lies will save him from some level of pain. A lying witness is convinced that distorting or denying the truth will save someone from something bad. According to Solomon, this deceitful witness is only deceiving himself. Deceit doesn't deliver anyone.
In this proverb and in this life, only a TRUE witness delivers souls. Only TRUTH makes people free (John 8:32). Truth may condemn the guilty but it frees the innocent. Truth may convict the criminal but it frees the victim. Truth brings justice to the victim, freeing that unfortunate soul from the bondage of injustice. Truth even brings opportunity for repentance to the perpetrator, freeing that dark soul from the bondage of iniquity. Whereas lying enslaves the liar to a false narrative that requires more lies to keep it alive, truth liberates everyone from confusion and uncertainty. Speaking the truth about what we observe always delivers someone. Speaking truthfully about what we see may not be easy but it always helps someone find freedom. Telling the truth about an event or an encounter may make someone look bad but if it's truthful, it will help someone else not look bad.
A witness is not a mind-reader or a motive-detector. A witness is not required to share their feelings or their suspicions. A witness is not asked to solve problems or to predict the future. A witness is not expected to determine guilt or innocence. The witness of this proverb is simply a person who speaks about what they witnessed. A witness is only asked to share what they saw, not what they think or feel. This proverb is about facts, not feelings. This proverb is about being truthful with facts. Accuracy with the facts brings liberty to someone somehow someway. When we're tempted to twist the facts, we think we're going to save someone when in reality, we're not going to save anyone. Just changing the time could put an innocent person in a literal prison while sentencing yourself to a lifetime of internal guilt in a spiritual prison. Lying about a dollar figure may imprison a just person to erroneous thinking while imprisoning yourself to a lie that will haunt you for a lifetime. The truth may hurt someone but it will always help someone. Lies may seem like they help someone but they always hurt everyone in the long run. Telling the truth may put a friend in jail but it will deliver innocent souls from suspicion, victims from injustice and even your friend from the bondage of living a lie. Telling the truth about a family member or a coworker may be uncomfortable but it delivers both the innocent and the guilty from living under a cloud of questions, concerns and confusion. Truth delivers everyone from the bondage of deceit.
In this proverb, one witness helps people in plural form and the other doesn't help a single soul. In this proverb, one witness brings deliverance while the other brings deceit. When tempted to lie about the facts, let this proverb be a reminder that deceit never saves anyone. When tempted to lie about the facts, let this proverb be a reminder that only truth saves people, even if the truth is ugly or painful. If you want help anyone, let the facts speak for themselves. Whether in court or in counseling, facts always help someone while lies always hurt everyone. Whether on the witness stand or at the coffee table, speaking the truth in love always helps someone while twisting the truth never saves anyone. A true witness without respect of persons, like surveillance cameras, brings light to the darkness and in so doing, brings deliverances to souls.
There was an art then and there is an art today in detecting deceit in an eyewitness. One of the reasons I like watching, See No Evil is to learn how detectives use video evidence to detect subtle lies in witnesses or suspects in order to eventually solve crimes. Solomon himself was given the ability to divinely detect deceit in suspects or witnesses as evidenced in the tragic rollover case of the deceased infant in 1 Kings 3. Because witnesses were so crucial to the justice system in Solomon's day and because human witnesses could be so deceitful, Judaism required more than one witness in cases where the death penalty was on the table (Deuteronomy 17:6). Honesty in court cases was so important within Jewish society that one of the Ten Commandments declared, "Thou shalt not bear false WITNESS against thy neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). To help witnesses take their moral responsibilities seriously, God required the two or three witnesses in a trial where a person was found guilty of a crime punishable by death to be the first to cast stones at the guilty (Deuteronomy 17:7). He wanted witnesses to bear the responsibility of their testimony. If they were going to truthfully testify that a person committed a crime, God wanted those true witnesses to be prepared to justly punish that person for that crime. If they were going to falsely testify that a person committed a crime, God wanted those false witnesses to be prepared to unjustly punish that person for no crime. It's one thing to lie about an innocent man; it's another thing to kill an innocent man. This Old Testament Jewish law didn't prevent lying but it was intended to deter lying in criminal cases.
Witnesses lied then for the same reasons they lie now - to help themselves in some way or with some person. The only real reason people lie is to avoid suspicion, guilt or loss. Witnesses twist the truth, distort the facts or flat-out lie to help themselves. If they're lying to protect a friend or family member, it's self-serving. If a witness lies to condemn an innocent soul, it is done to get some advantage over that innocent person either on the job, in a relationship or in a financial dispute. If a witness lies about what he or she saw, that witness is trying to either save themselves or someone they care about. A false witness thinks his deceit will save him from some sort of loss. A deceitful witness believes his lies will save him from some level of pain. A lying witness is convinced that distorting or denying the truth will save someone from something bad. According to Solomon, this deceitful witness is only deceiving himself. Deceit doesn't deliver anyone.
In this proverb and in this life, only a TRUE witness delivers souls. Only TRUTH makes people free (John 8:32). Truth may condemn the guilty but it frees the innocent. Truth may convict the criminal but it frees the victim. Truth brings justice to the victim, freeing that unfortunate soul from the bondage of injustice. Truth even brings opportunity for repentance to the perpetrator, freeing that dark soul from the bondage of iniquity. Whereas lying enslaves the liar to a false narrative that requires more lies to keep it alive, truth liberates everyone from confusion and uncertainty. Speaking the truth about what we observe always delivers someone. Speaking truthfully about what we see may not be easy but it always helps someone find freedom. Telling the truth about an event or an encounter may make someone look bad but if it's truthful, it will help someone else not look bad.
A witness is not a mind-reader or a motive-detector. A witness is not required to share their feelings or their suspicions. A witness is not asked to solve problems or to predict the future. A witness is not expected to determine guilt or innocence. The witness of this proverb is simply a person who speaks about what they witnessed. A witness is only asked to share what they saw, not what they think or feel. This proverb is about facts, not feelings. This proverb is about being truthful with facts. Accuracy with the facts brings liberty to someone somehow someway. When we're tempted to twist the facts, we think we're going to save someone when in reality, we're not going to save anyone. Just changing the time could put an innocent person in a literal prison while sentencing yourself to a lifetime of internal guilt in a spiritual prison. Lying about a dollar figure may imprison a just person to erroneous thinking while imprisoning yourself to a lie that will haunt you for a lifetime. The truth may hurt someone but it will always help someone. Lies may seem like they help someone but they always hurt everyone in the long run. Telling the truth may put a friend in jail but it will deliver innocent souls from suspicion, victims from injustice and even your friend from the bondage of living a lie. Telling the truth about a family member or a coworker may be uncomfortable but it delivers both the innocent and the guilty from living under a cloud of questions, concerns and confusion. Truth delivers everyone from the bondage of deceit.
In this proverb, one witness helps people in plural form and the other doesn't help a single soul. In this proverb, one witness brings deliverance while the other brings deceit. When tempted to lie about the facts, let this proverb be a reminder that deceit never saves anyone. When tempted to lie about the facts, let this proverb be a reminder that only truth saves people, even if the truth is ugly or painful. If you want help anyone, let the facts speak for themselves. Whether in court or in counseling, facts always help someone while lies always hurt everyone. Whether on the witness stand or at the coffee table, speaking the truth in love always helps someone while twisting the truth never saves anyone. A true witness without respect of persons, like surveillance cameras, brings light to the darkness and in so doing, brings deliverances to souls.
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