The Eighth Commandment in the Workplace Text: Proverbs 30:10
Introduction: Justice Begins at Home
We live in an age that is obsessed with justice, or at least, with a certain kind of justice. Our culture is awash in talk of "social justice," a concept that is always conveniently defined by those who stand to gain the most power from its implementation. This kind of justice is loud, it is resentful, it is envious, and it is almost always concerned with vast, impersonal systems and historical grievances. It is a justice that seeks to rearrange the world from the top down, usually by means of coercion, accusation, and clamor.
But biblical justice is of an entirely different character. It is not an abstract theory but a practical righteousness. It is not primarily concerned with overthrowing distant systems but with governing your own tongue. Biblical justice begins, not in the halls of power, but in the ordinary, mundane relationships of life. It begins at home, in the neighborhood, and as we see in our text, in the workplace. The man who is a tyrant to his wife, a bully to his children, and a gossip to his neighbors does not magically become a champion of justice when he posts a virtuous hashtag online. He is a hypocrite, and his righteousness is a sham.
The book of Proverbs is intensely practical in this way. It brings the high and lofty principles of God's law down to the street level. It is concerned with how we handle our money, how we raise our children, how we speak to our friends, and how we conduct ourselves in our vocations. And in this very brief, almost overlooked proverb from Agur, we find a potent application of the eighth and ninth commandments to the relationship between an employer and his employee, or in the ancient context, a master and his slave.
This verse is a quiet word, but it is a weighty one. It warns against a particular kind of slander, a specific form of bearing false witness that disrupts a fundamental economic relationship. And it attaches a severe penalty: a curse and a finding of guilt. In this little verse, we see the biblical concern for the vulnerable, the demand for truthfulness in our speech, and the principle that God's justice extends to every corner of our lives, including the office, the construction site, and the factory floor.
The Text
Do not slander a slave to his master, Lest he curse you and you be found guilty.
(Proverbs 30:10 LSB)
Meddling with a Lying Tongue (v. 10a)
We begin with the prohibition itself:
"Do not slander a slave to his master..." (Proverbs 30:10a)
The word for slander here means to bear a false report, to use your tongue to injure someone's reputation. It is a direct violation of the ninth commandment: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). But notice the specific context. This is not just any slander; it is the slander of a subordinate to his superior. In the ancient world, this was a slave to his master. In our modern context, this applies directly to an employee and his employer.
Why is this particular form of slander singled out? Because of the power dynamic involved. The slave, or the employee, is in a position of vulnerability. His livelihood, his sustenance, and his well being are largely in the hands of his master. To lie about him to his master is to attack his very means of survival. It is a cowardly and malicious act. You are not confronting the man face to face; you are whispering poison into the ear of the one who holds power over him. It is the action of a backbiter, a talebearer, a man who seeks to advance himself or settle a score by destroying another man's standing.
This is a profound piece of workplace ethics. Do not be the office gossip who runs to the boss with exaggerated or fabricated stories about a coworker. Do not try to make yourself look better by making someone else look worse. This is a form of theft. You are attempting to steal another man's reputation and, potentially, his job. You are stealing the bread from his table. This is why it is connected to the eighth commandment as well. A lying tongue and a thieving hand are close cousins.
Furthermore, this is a disruption of a God-ordained relationship. The master/servant or employer/employee relationship is part of the created order. Paul gives extensive instructions on how these relationships are to function in a godly manner (Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-4:1). Masters are to be just and fair; servants are to work with integrity, as unto the Lord. The slanderer injects poison into this relationship. He creates suspicion, discord, and strife where there ought to be loyalty and productive labor. He is a troublemaker, and God hates those who sow discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19).
The Backlash of a Bitter Tongue (v. 10b)
The second half of the verse lays out the consequences for this particular sin. The warning is stark.
"...Lest he curse you and you be found guilty." (Proverbs 30:10b)
There are two consequences here, and they are intertwined. The first is that the slandered slave will curse you. Now, in our therapeutic age, we are taught that words can never hurt us. But the Bible takes curses very seriously. A curse is an appeal to a higher power, in this case, God, to bring judgment upon someone for an injustice. When a man is wronged, when his livelihood is threatened by lies, and he has no recourse on earth, his cry goes up to heaven. And God hears the cry of the oppressed (Exodus 22:22-23).
This is not an empty threat. The curse of a man who has been unjustly treated has weight. It is not like the causeless curse that will not alight (Proverbs 26:2). This curse has a cause; it is rooted in a real injustice. The slanderer has created an enemy, and that enemy is now appealing to the ultimate Judge for vindication. You have stirred up a hornet's nest, not just with the man, but with the God who defends the helpless.
The second consequence is that you will "be found guilty." This is legal language. It means you will be held accountable; you will have to pay the penalty. When the curse is uttered, God opens a case file. An investigation is launched in the courts of heaven. And because your slander was, in fact, slander, you will be found guilty. The verdict will come down against you.
How does this guilt manifest itself? It could be in a number of ways. Perhaps your own lies will be exposed, and you will be the one who is fired. Perhaps the discord you sowed will come back to bite you, and you will find yourself isolated and despised. Perhaps you will find that your own affairs begin to mysteriously unravel. The point is that God's justice is not mocked. What a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7). If you sow lies and discord, you will reap a harvest of ruin. You meddled in a relationship that was not your own, and now you will bear the guilt of your malicious interference.
Conclusion: A Call to Righteous Speech
This proverb, then, is a sharp and pointed reminder about the ethics of the tongue. In a world that runs on gossip, backbiting, and character assassination, the Christian is called to a different standard. Our speech is to be governed by truth, seasoned with grace, and intended for building up, not tearing down (Ephesians 4:29).
This applies with particular force to how we speak about others in their place of work. We are to be honest and upright. We are to defend the reputation of our coworkers, not undermine it. We are to be loyal, not just to our employer, but to those who labor alongside us. To do otherwise is to invite a curse and a guilty verdict from the Judge of all the earth.
But there is a gospel application here as well. For we must all confess that we have, at times, used our tongues to slander. We have not just slandered men, but we have slandered God Himself. Our sin is a constant, slanderous accusation against His goodness, His justice, and His holiness. We live as though He is a harsh master, and we misrepresent His character to ourselves and to the world. For this, we are truly guilty. We stand under a curse, the curse of the law, which we have all broken.
And yet, the good news is that there was One who was slandered on our behalf. Jesus Christ was the victim of the ultimate false witness. Men came and lied about him to the authorities. They twisted His words and bore false testimony against Him in a kangaroo court (Matthew 26:59-60). He was slandered to Pilate, and slandered to the people. And as a result of this slander, He was taken and crucified.
But on that cross, something remarkable happened. He took the curse that we deserved upon Himself. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). He was found guilty, so that we might be found righteous. He endured the ultimate injustice so that we might receive the ultimate mercy.
Therefore, as those who have been saved from the consequences of our own slanderous hearts, we must be a people whose speech is transformed. We must put away all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all slander (1 Peter 2:1). We must be those who speak truth in love, who defend the vulnerable, and who refuse to participate in the cowardly and destructive sin of bearing false witness, especially against those who are in no position to defend themselves. This is what true, practical, street-level justice looks like. And it is our high calling as followers of the slandered and risen Christ.