The first article with this same title and subject came from a devotional I posted on Facebook entitled “Are You Being Deceived?” In our current culture, people not only engage in hearing and repeating lies, they lie themselves. A number of research papers claim that the average person tells about twenty five lies a day and that 91% of all people lie! Though I find these statistics hard to believe, I do believe we tell more lies than we care to admit or confess to. Why? I think we have become jaded in our resolution to be truthful because so many others do and we just go with the flow and start doing the same.
In the first article I laid out God’s attitude towards lying by dealing with scripture that clearly defines his thoughts and attitude towards lying. As Christians, our behavior should be evaluated by what scripture teaches us and we should set boundaries to help us keep our souls in a healthy place where God is pleased and not angry at how we are living as his children. And yes, God gets angry with us when we shape our thoughts, desires and actions based on the world instead of Him. This is a key scripture that I referenced in the first article.
Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the LORD hates—no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers.
So, why does God hate such activities and behavior? Some feel God gives us laws because he just wants to make us miserable or because he doesn’t want us to have any “fun” in life. As stupid as this sounds, church history is full of people who taught nearly the same idea and people would join monasteries throughout the centuries just to punish their bodies to be pleasing to God. They were taught that we need to purge our sinful natures through pain and suffering.
The truth is that from the beginning of humanity God has tried to move man towards living in peace towards God, ourselves and our fellow man. The laws presented in the ten commandments deal with two major categories. First, our relationship with God and then our relationship with our fellow man. The ninth commandment is all about not lying, which would misrepresent the truth about others with falsehood and testimony and thus harming them. Remember Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life and that Satan was the author of lies. So, we either choose to walk after God’s character and actions or Satan’s. In the book of Genesis, Satan pretended to want Adam and Eve’s best when in truth he wanted to harm them and ultimately kill them. Jesus made it very clear that there is a vast difference between what Jesus wanted to give our lives and what Satan wanted to give. Our perspective should be the same as God in 2 Peter 3:9 that states God desires that none would perish but that all would come to repentance.
John 10:10 The thief (Satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
“Lying” is destructive to the human soul it wounds and it undermines all that God wants for us. Our boundaries either protect God’s best for us or hinder and destroy God’s best. Remember what Moses said to the children of Israel when he was about to die and they were about to enter the promised land of God’s inheritance.
Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Never be fooled by the falsehood taught by some in the body of Christ that whatever God wants in your life will happen with or without your cooperation. Throughout the scripture our relationship with God is presented as one of teamwork. God supplies the opportunity of blessing and prosperity but we must align ourselves with his guidance in order to receive his blessing and power. Even salvation is coupled with God’s provision and our repentance. No repentance, no salvation.
So, first and foremost, lying is against the will of God and against the boundaries he has set for our lives. Secondly, we always have a choice either to follow God’s plan or Satan’s plan. Be not mistaken, we either fall in one of the two categories, either by mistake or by awareness, but it is always a choice.
So why do people lie? Some reasons are obvious and others are not. Some people tell lies to protect themselves from harm. A two year old who loves cookies is an example. He is told not to take the cookies without asking first and when his mother walks into the kitchen she sees the child with cookies all over his or her face and asks the question, “Did you open the cooky jar and eat some cookies?” The child almost instinctively says, “no mommy”. When we are young the fear of punishment motivates us, as it should, to do the right thing but sometimes that fear gets twisted for a variety of reasons. I learned and developed a habit to shoplift when I was only five years old. Why? Because I saw my father doing it regularly. I made the choice but I learned the habit from watching him and others. We all learn our early habits from observation, whether good or bad.
Some people lie to get a promotion. I heard a story of a man with dyslexia, a disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words. The man lied about knowing and understanding about trading on the stock market and got the job. He lied because he had a real difficulty reading and understanding the manual about trading. He later became an expert at his job yet he lied to get the promotion and opportunity. Was it right or wrong for him to lie?
So, the next question we have to ask ourselves is even though scripture says God hates lying and even though we know its wrong and destructive to our souls to do so, is there a good reason or an acceptable reason for lying? Will God turn a blind eye over our lying if we do it for a good reason? I will tackle that in article three but let me close with a few scriptures to ponder.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
The life of Jesus is always the goal of each believer and this doesn’t happen over night but with diligence and the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to become more and more like him. Confession and repentance should be one of the means by which we mature towards this goal.
Is all lying sin? Is there some lying that is more acceptable than others? Part three will delve into these questions and more!
Questions:
1) Do you notice situations that you seem to lie? 1 John 1:9 is a good place to start.
2) Are you trapped in repetitive lying? James 5:16 is a good place to begin.
Loving the word of God that shows us the truth for living.
Pastor Dale
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