THE NINTH COMMANDMENT TODAY

Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16, ESV) 

I’m a big fan of Law and Order: SVU. The stories are heartbreaking, but I love seeing the progression of a case from start to its satisfying finish, usually with the perpetrator of these heinous crimes facing their just punishment. I realize that this series is fictional, and there are some serious cases in which people have been wrongly accused and imprisoned. 

Take Ben’s example of Melissa Lucio, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and assigned the death sentence in 2008. There is hope for her yet: on November 16, 2024, Judge Arturo Nelson decided that Lucio is actually, innocent. The next steps involve this decision to go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA), which will make the final deci­sion about whether to over­turn this wrongful conviction. 
 
All that to say, I’m only an amateur armchair attorney; the ninth commandment really doesn’t apply to my life at face value. 

As Ben shared in his sermon, to embody the ninth commandment in today’s world, we must choose to be a people of justice, integrity, and grace. And I would wholeheartedly agree with that. It’s incredibly important to me to have a strong character: to make good on my promises, treat everyone with respect, and share my honest opinion when it’s warranted, with as much kindness as possible. 

But if I’m completely honest, there’s still one area of my life where it’s tempting to stretch the truth, to manipulate reality to my advantage, creating a better version of myself to 1,000 of my closest friends. 

That place of course, is social media. 

My first social media photo, circa 2009.

The more I was on it, however, the more I noticed a stinging in my chest when I would see my friends hanging out together…without me. I remember feeling increasingly dissatisfied with my appearance after comparing images of myself to images of other girls my age, and a rising insecurity around my own social life after seeing posed group photos of my classmates together, featuring bright smiles and arms around each other. 

I’m not criticizing their use of social media. I think we were all figuring it out as we went, using photos to memorialize the activities we were doing that day. But I still feel that familiar sting sometimes seeing other people I’m connected with having more fun, more adventures, and more success than me in that moment. 

At least, that’s what they’re portraying. 

ENTER ANXIETY

I’m reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, and it’s fascinating to hear the concrete science that outlines the impact of screens and social media on younger Millennials and Generation Z. Haidt argues that in 2010, a shift began for children and adolescents from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood. He also attributes a significant rise in mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, to prolonged periods of social media engagement and smartphone use, particularly in young girls. (I happen to be in that bracket.) He sums up a lot of our experiences in this statement: 

This is the great irony of social media: the more you immerse yourself in it, the more lonely and depressed you become. (Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness) 

It took me a while to recognize the fact that not everything on social media is real. 

Models are digitally poked and prodded until every pore is gone.  

Influencers are recording and re-recording that one shot until it’s perfect. 

And my friends are only posting the highlights of their day. 

In Ben’s sermon this past week, he brings up Exodus 23:2, which shares that partaking in falsehoods perverts justice. Ben shares more about the Hebrew translation of “pervert,” and its implications: 

The word is natah – it is a word about manipulation, in its most literal sense. It can be translated as a “bending” or “to incline” something to our desires, or even to “push aside.” It is a word about exerting influence. By constructing a falsehood, we can create a little alternative interpretation of reality wherein we can exert our influence to determine a certain outcome we desire. By doing this, we take on the role of truth because we now get to influence the outcome rather than having the truth determine the outcome. 

I find word studies fascinating, and this is no different. When we post online with ill intentions of appearing better than we are, especially in comparison to those who are viewing our content, we are warping a new reality. We are clinging to a false sense of control. We assert a false identity like a god, when God has the ultimate role as Creator.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA WELL

Knowing this, I aim to use my social media very carefully, because I know for all the negative feelings I experience about what I see, my real-world friends are just as susceptible to those as well. Before I post, I found it helpful to use the advice radio host Bernard Meltzer shared in response to what to consider before speaking: 

• Is it true?
• Is it kind?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it helpful? 

I’d say this is just as relevant for what we say and share online, as well, especially the third question. 

So, should we all just quit social media? Part of me is internally screaming, “YES!” and the other part recognizes that social media is now just part of the reality of living in this modern world. But, we can still use our little corner of the Internet intentionally and make a difference where we have influence. 

If God commands us not to bear false witness, what does it mean to share true witness in our lives? 

I first think about how Paul encourages us to see ourselves as Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), pointing others back to Jesus through what we post, share, and comment. This especially matters when we see posts that anger us, or arguments we disagree with. Sometimes, no response is the best response, as difficult as that might be. 

But more importantly, I think about the importance of investing in the physical world, building up the relationships that matter in my life. I feel the deepest joy laughing with my friend at our favorite coffee shop. I understand the depth of my coworker’s heartbreak when I hear them share bad news in my office. I feel the most fulfilled when I’m able to have face-to-face conversations with my spouse over dinner. 

The digital world can be fun, but it’s shallow in comparison to what we can see, feel, and experience just outside our door.

BENEDICTION