The 8th Commandment might be the most difficult one for most human beings. We seem to bear false witness against our neighbors in varying degrees every day.
One of the worst examples of bearing false witness against your neighbor is one that is a particular issue right now: political ads.
If you haven't already figured it out, political ads are almost entirely centered on bearing false witness against neighbors. Doesn't matter which political party you are talking about, lies are prevalent in political ads. Much of that is from bearing false witness against the opponent: calling political opponents names: radical liberal; dangerous, fascist, communist, hack, dirty, just to name a few. You've seen them and heard them.
The truth is that we should take political ads - and commentary from places like CNN and FOX News - with a grain of salt. They tend to tell us what we want to hear: to confirm any biases we already have. And by doing so, they wear down the love of neighbor we are called to.
For more on this, here is a video talking about lying in politics. Stay tuned through to the end to see what a political ad looks like when politicians do follow the commandment to not bear false witness.
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