The Ninth Commandment of Marriage:  Be Truthful

The ninth commandment for marriage speaks to the heart of any marriage, trust.  It is found in Exodus 20:16,

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Someone who would lie about their neighbor, for whatever reason, is not going to make a good marriage partner.  Honesty and trust are at the heart of a good marriage.

If you take advantage of people for your own gain, speaking untruthfully to get ahead, you are not a person to be trusted.  And you ultimately are the loser.

I am reminded of the guy who was in a fender bender, and he feigned an injury, pretended like he hurt his arm and his shoulder.  As a result, the poor little lady who had run into his car was subjected to a truly horrible situation.  She was grilled by attorneys, had to give depositions, and ended up in court.

But this guy continued trying to take her for all she was worth.  He didn’t care because he knew she had money.  He didn’t care if she had to give up her house.  He was looking at an opportunity to get rich.

The attorney for the lady’s insurance company put him on the stand and said, “I would like to know, since the accident, since you injured your arm and your shoulder, how far can you now raise your arm?”

With great pain etched on his face, he said, “Well…’bout here.  That’s it.  Just to here.”  Then the attorney asked, “Well, how far could you lift it before the accident?”  The guy responded, raising his arm with ease, “I could lift it up to here.”

Needless to say, he lost. 

Anyone who is not truthful will ultimately lose.  And if your spouse will lie to someone else, he or she will lie to you. 

The Tenth Commandment of Marriage:  Be Content with What You Have

Today we come to the final commandment for marriage.  That commandment is based on the tenth commandment given to the nation of Israel in Exodus 20:17,

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

This command is very direct.  Do not covet.  Don’t be discontent with what you have.  Do not make what you don’t have the focus of your life.  Accentuate what you do have and what God has blessed you and your spouse with.

You do this by celebrating your husband’s or wife’s strengths and giftings rather than thinking, “Oh, I wish he was this way,” or, “I wish she had that.”

If Janet compared me to her brothers, I would be in big trouble.  Her brothers are these “Mr. Fix-It” guys who can do anything mechanical.  If you are with me and our car breaks down on a desolate road, we are going to be in some serious trouble.  I can pray, but do not expect me to fix the car.

Her brothers are another story.  One just built a house from the ground up; and if anything mechanical breaks down, he can fix it.

While I am not a Mr. Fix-It, there are other things I am good at.  I am so grateful that Janet wants to pull those out of me and give wings to those gifts.  And I want to do the same thing for her. 

You will always get into trouble if you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  Just water your own grass.  Because on the other side of the fence, it’s just Astroturf anyway.

Next Week -- Ways to Honor God’s Command Against Adultery

Answers with Bayless Conley broadcasts practical teachings of the Bible to its viewers in a non-religious way. For years, Bayless Conley struggled with drugs and alcohol while searching for answers. It was not until he was more than 20 years of age that a 12-year-old boy showed him the powerful reality of a relationship with Christ. Since 1979, the Lord has opened the television airwaves to the Answers program, which currently airs each week in more than 100 nations around the world.