We’ve all heard the advertising slogan “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.” In other words, no one will bad-mouth a person for what they do there.
Having been part of the advertising community for nearly twenty years, I think it’s a great slogan for a place where people often lose their inhibitions and would like to keep that secret. But it’s just that–an advertising slogan. It attracts with a promise, a wish, but no one honestly believes it.
But how does that slogan work on a personal level? Have you ever been instructed to “keep it to yourself” after a friend or family member confided in you? Yet, you didn’t? Sadly most of us are guilty.
Or maybe we know people who keep nothing to themselves. Maybe they can’t wait to spout off all your business, as well as the business of everyone they know, too? Worse, maybe they even maliciously make false statements to injure another’s reputation. Many people’s lives have been destroyed because they were falsely accused of something they had nothing to do with.
We ought to think about that–ruining other people’s lives can definitely come from bad-mouthing–whether what we say is a lie, or the truth.
So here’s another “Slogan” one that you can believe.
God’s Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Shouldn’t we remember that those words are not a suggestion, but meant to be followed?
Translating a World on the Edge 