LENTEN SEASON DIGEST Day 11 TOPIC: BUSYBODY AND PERJURY TEXT: PROVERB 6: 16-19 INTRODUCTION BUSYBODY: A person who is too interested in what other people are doing; or a person who interferes in other people’s business without invitation. It also means to be busy about useless matters; doing things that we should not do; meddling in business of others; prying into the domestic affairs of others or their privacy without respect for their feelings. These categories of people are a curse to every neighbourhood and a plague to every religious group. Busybody can go under other names-backbiting, slander, rumors, hearsay, tale-telling, gossip. At its best, busybody whispers dubious hints, repeats questionable information, turns the light on another person a few degrees to the left, or suggests wrongdoing without facts to back up the suggestion. Busybody is a sin, for it depreciates personhood, often trying to make someone else look bad so you or I can look good. God hates busybody.PERJURY is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing- e.g. birth declaration, etc. Perjury is a crime because the witness has sworn to tell the truth, and for the credibility of the court, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful. Perjury is considered a serious offence as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice. In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law provides for a prison sentence of up to five years. The rules for perjury also apply to witnesses who have affirmed they are telling the truth. Affirmation is used by a witness who is unable to swear to tell the truth. For example, in the United Kingdom a witness may swear on the Bible or other holy book. If a witness has no religious beliefs, or does not wish to swear on a holy book, the witness may make an affirmation that he or she is telling the truth instead. Making up or spreading false reports is strictly forbidden by God. Gossip, slander, and false witnessing undermine families, strain neighborhood cooperation, and make chaos of the justice system. Destructive gossip still causes problems. Even if you do not initiate a lie, you become responsible if you pass it along. Don’t circulate rumors; squelch them. Famous people who have been convicted of perjury: Jonathan Aitken: British politician, who was a member of John Majors cabinet, sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for perjury. Jeffrey Archer: British novelist and politician, sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for perjury Famous people accused of perjury: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was accused of perjury and as a result was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998. The Senate acquitted him on the false testimony charge as cause to remove him from office by a vote of 55 not-guilty votes to 45 guilty votes. No criminal charges were ever brought, though Clinton was later fined for contempt of court and, after thorough negotiations, agreed to be temporarily disbarred to avoid the possibility of a lengthy criminal trial EFFECTS OF BUSYBODY AND PERJURY: Harmful: (Prov 25:18, 2 Thes 3:6-15); wasting of valuable time (2 Thes 3:11-12), CONSEQUENCES OF BUSYBODY AND PERJURY Leads to destruction (Zach 5:4); leads to vain religion (James 1:26); leads to hell (Rev 21:8); denial of access to GOD’S throne (Psalm 24:3-4) ADVICE/WARNING You should not swear falsely: (Lev 19:16, Ex 20:7, Zech 8:17); Put them off (Col 3:8-10); Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. (Matt7:1); Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. (Leviticus 19:16). CONCLUSION Deeply rooted in people is the love of busybody i.e., empty, unnecessary conversations, and it has become a beloved delicacy among them. It seems we dont know and dont believe that busybody is a sin, and a serious sin, which gives birth to a multitude of other sins: quarrels, conflicts, gossip, slander, condemnation, calumny, and the like. Indeed, all the various confusions which fill human life to overflowing, all the disturbances of the inner quiet of the soul, have as their source this same busybody which has crept into all of everyday life, as though it were its indispensable property and requirement. If any sin or any passion knows how to clothe itself in an attractive form, it is precisely—busybody. It begins under the pretext of conversing, of discussing some business, but then we proceed imperceptibly to an altogether unnecessary, empty, and sinful conversation. In our words (which we regard so carelessly, so thoughtlessly), will be either our justification or condemnation, as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37); I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:36). Stop the chain of gossip with you! When you hear gossip you can do something about it. You can decide not to spread it any further. Stop the fires of gossip from spreading beyond you (Proverbs 26:20). If you are not sure something is gossip, you must look carefully into the matter without assuming what you have been told is true. Go to the source and get the facts straight (Deut 13:12-14).Don’t forget that he who chatters to you will one day chatter of you. The Golden Rule can also be applied to our speech-”Talk about others in the same way you would like them to talk about you.” (Matthew 7:12). Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them (Ephesians 4:29). The Scriptures say, “If you want a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies.” 1 Peter 3:10. Busybody and Perjury are packs of lies, and they hurt others. They also destroy your credibility if proved false so stay away from them; so flee from them.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 06:32:52 +0000
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