Moses, in his God-inspired instructions for righteous living to the Hebrew people, included this pertinent counsel (Ex. 23:1): "Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness."
That which is not lifted remains at its own level. How joyous, how lovely, would be our daily life if we refused to raise the false reports of idle or malicious gossip to the level even of contemplation, much less credence! The hand which is put forth with brotherly love is never doubled into the fist of slanderous attack or coupled, through confirmation, with the false witnesses of personal sense. Rather does the helpful hand lift men to their rightful status of bearing witness to man's nature as the image and likeness of the one creator, God, who declared His creation to be "very good" (Gen. 1:31).
The human mind, with its false sense of the reality of both good and evil, sometimes resists the inspired attempts of the spiritually-minded to establish the scientific recognition of man and the universe as a divine creation, perfect and immortal. Christ Jesus, the most spiritually-minded individual who ever lived, was constantly opposed in his Messianic mission by the theologians, lawyers, and bigots of the day who recognized that the establishment of pure Christianity was the deathblow to any religious system governed by worldly policies and pride. The selfless love which shone through the Saviour's life purpose was intolerable to men who sought personal gain and aggrandizement. Rather than have their religion purified and strengthened by the grace and truth which he personified, they attempted to destroy this powerful threat to pride and greed.
