While the world may make light of lying as they portray movies like, “Liar, Liar” according to God’s Word, lying is anything but funny. God’s desire for us is that we stop imitating the devil by lying and start to imitate Him by standing for the truth and telling the truth. God sees the result and the consequences of lying and He wants to prevent us from falling into that trap. Why do we lie? It is natural. It is something we default to when we are to blame or if we have caused someone else pain. It is natural for people to lie and to be lied to. But as children of God, we should aspire to live on a spiritual level that dictates to our natural living. If God’s Word becomes the ultimate authority that we embrace, lying will cease and the truth will set you free!
Proverbs 12:22 “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”
We may also lie to protect ourselves and avoid getting into immediate trouble. Others may lie for selfish gain. Many break godly rules and dictates by compromising with what is generally unacceptable so that they can enrich themselves. Many lie at times to avoid confronting the truth. There are many ways to lie than just out and out lying. Deception is a lie. Psalm 5:9 “Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.” When we are dishonest that is also lying. Telling half-truths is also lying. We are being dishonest when we purposefully leave out information. We can also lie by stretching the truth or exaggerating. When some part of your statement is true, but it is mixed with lies. Proverbs 26:28 “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
What damage do we cause by lying? Lying has the snowball effect. Often when we tell one lie, we must cover it up with other lies to prevent ourselves from being exposed. Liars must develop a great memory while those who tell the truth don’t have to have a good memory. Lying adds to the problem instead of helping solve it. Most cases people lie to cover up for something bad that they have done. When what we have done is exposed, the consequences are magnified because of the lies on top of it. Proverbs 19:5 “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.” When you tell the truth is builds good character, but when we choose to lie it helps dismantle our future.
How do we overcome lying? In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira lied, and God dealt harshly with them for their lies. Peter said, “You have not lied to men but to God.” When we lie, in essence we are lying to each other but ultimately our lie is to God. When we think that we are pulling the wool over other people’s eyes, we are pulling the wool over our own eyes. Lies comes from the devil himself. He is known as the father of lies! When we lie, we glorify the father of lies. We choose to live in a deceptive place so that we are comfortable with doing what is not pleasing in God’s sight. Satan is behind all lies. God takes a harsh stance on lying because He knows that lying is a restless evil that festers and grows until it destroys. Proverbs 13:5 “The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace.” We can overcome lying by standing for the truth no matter what the consequences of our actions!?When we stand for God and truth, God will uphold us and reveal Himself through us!
