The Ninth Commandment - Under Oath?

Remember the Ninth Commandment? Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. From courts to congressional hearings to commitment by elected officials to do their jobs, oaths have become a routine of our public life. People take an oath to commit themselves, truly or falsely, to tell the truth. No fudging, no hiding the truth. Does their oath matter? Let's face it. Those who don't lie will not lie because their mothers taught them not to. Those who lie will lie any time they need to, oath be damned. A lie, any lie, breaks the web of relationships and trust on which a society's or a family's well-being rests. 

It happens to the best of us, sometimes. 

Sometimes we make a casual promise or just express an intention to do something. Then we forget. Sometimes we even want to forget what we promised if it no longer suits us. Not relevant anymore. No harm done if we just set it aside. Life goes on, and sometimes others ignore our dereliction. Sometimes it comes back to haunt us, but we may still shrug it off. However, there are other times when we take an oath, a solemn oath that entitles us to privileges and burdens us with responsibilities. This solemn pronouncement, the oath we swear, usually using a religious book as our witness, is a little different. 

Actually, a lot different. Not everyone sees it that way, though. When asked whether they will honor the oath they took in the presence of the whole world as witness, they might shrug their shoulders. What's an oath between friends, they might think. They didn't mean it that way, they suggest. Look, there are bigger issues they have to deal with than being commandeered by a few words like "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of ...., and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Just a few words, we might think. Then one day, we are asked if we will abide by our oath. Oh yeah, that oath. Well, not quite sure.

Maybe or maybe not! Humm... Wouldn't it be nice if the oath were inscribed at the entrance to the office of the ones who take such an oath? Wouldn't it be nice if each person taking that oath were expected to recite it every morning? Carry it in their pockets or purses? Consider having a ceremony to retake the oath every year, to refresh their commitment to it. 

Too much to ask, you say. Imagine the damage, the unimaginable consequences of "forgetting" the oath, the consequences of not living by the oath - an oath that binds those who govern and those who are governed, those who make the rules and those who are ruled by those rules. The oath that binds... that little thing called an OATH! 

Your thoughts?

Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses

No Jew can speak for all Jews; no Christian can speak for all Christians; no Muslim can speak for all Muslims. Our three faiths lack a unified voice. We all march to the sound of different drummers. 

Those drums become cacophonous, though, when the three faiths interface because, historically, we are rarely on the same beat. We have been at war with one another for centuries, and in many places in the world today, we still are. Sometimes we call each other names; sometimes name-calling leads to people being hurt or killed. There have been very few years without war somewhere in our mutual history. 

 Can we put an end to a seemingly endless cycle of hatred and violence? And if so, where do we begin? 

One Jew, one Christian, and one Muslim believe it all begins with leadership. Many world leaders today have grown entitled and lazy. Too often, our collective futures are in the hands of demagogues who use toxic weapons of hatred and fear to gain power and keep it. Some leaders start with the good of their people at heart, but luxury and flattery warp the good that is within until they become heirs to history’s worst despots and tyrants. 

Time may be running out for our small, fragile, and overpopulated planet. If we are living on a powder keg, then fanning the sparks of suspicion and prejudice will never end well. The time to act was a million years ago, but we lack a time machine. Those of us living today can only take responsibility for future yesteryears. Otherwise, we court our peril. 

 If we speak as mere individuals, we risk our voice being drowned out by the perpetual yawn of the cynical status quo. But one Jew, one Christian, and one Muslim speaking as one voice could thunder like millions yelling into a canyon. It is possible to sing from the same hymnal if we focus on our shared beliefs. 

This one Jew, this one Christian, and this one Muslim believe there is only one human race, that God is one, that the same God inspires us all, and that we share a destiny. Our common enemy is not each other, but rather, those who decry that there is nothing divine about Creation, nothing sacred worth honoring, and that we should worship riches, power, sex, or human celebrities that serve as idols. 

We also have a choice on how we treat each other, and that the past does not have to be prologue. As Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we are all spiritual descendants of Abraham and disciples of Moses. Abraham was a man of peace, and Moses was a liberator and lawgiver who found the path to the Promised Land. If we let him, Moses, our standard role model of leadership, will guide us to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah:

“Nation shall not raise a sword against another nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.” 

Honoring the story of Moses does not mean we are forced to tell the story only one way, or that we are only allowed to learn one lesson. In this book, three individuals— Jew, Christian, and Muslim — have joined hands to hold one pen, and though we may write from different minds, it is from the same heart.

May the Almighty illumine our eyes and show us the path to a new Promised Land where we all can live as brothers and sisters. 

Amen.

From the Preface (slightly edited) of How Millennials Can Lead Us Out of the Mess We're In: A Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian Share Leadership Lessons from the Life of Moses Hardcover – Abridged, October 20, 2020

by Mordecai Schreiber (Author), Iqbal Unus (Author), Ian Case Punnett (Author)

Oops, I forgot. A little thing called OATH...

IT HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF US. Sometimes we make a casual promise, or just express an intention to do something. Then we forget. Sometimes we even want to forget what we promised if it no longer suits us. Not relevant any more, we might say. No harm done if we just set it aside. Life goes on and sometimes others ignore our dereliction. Sometimes it comes back to haunt us, but we may still shrug it off. But then there are other times when we take an oath, a solemn oath, an oath that entitles us to privileges and burdens us with responsibilities. This solemn pronouncement, the oath we swear, usually using a religious book as our witness, is a little different. Actually a whole lot different. Not everyone sees it way, though. When asked whether they will honor the oath they took in the presence of the whole world as witness, they might shrug their shoulders. What's an oath between friends, they might think. They didn't really mean it that way, they might suggest. Look there are bigger issues they have to deal with then being commandeered by a few words likes "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of ...., and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Just a few words, we might think. Then one day we are asked if we will abide by our oath. Oh yeah, that oath. Well, not quite sure. May be or may be not! Humm... Wouldn't it be nice if the oath was inscribed at the entrance to the office of the ones who take such an oath? Wouldn't it be nice if each person taking that oath was expected to recite it every morning? Carry it in their pockets or purses? Have a ceremony to retake the oath every year, to refresh their commtment to it, perhaps? Too much to ask, you say. Imagine the damage, the unimaginable consequences of "forgetting" the oath, the consequences of not living by the oath - an oath that binds those who govern and ones who are governed, those who make the rules and those who are ruled by those rules. The oath that binds... that little thing called an OATH! Your thoughts?