Truth or Lies

Truth flows from the “Truth”—Jesus, and lies flow from the “father” of lies—the devil. So, truth tellers side with the Lord and liars side with Satan. With whom do we align? We are quick to say Jesus, but in everyday life—if not careful—we drift into representing the dark side when we are tempted to speak an untruth out of fear, instead of truth out of trust.

Lying is focused only on the short-term. We are afraid we will lose something if we don’t lie. We may lose someone’s respect. But when we are found out to be a liar, it compounds into humiliation. We may lose money. But when indiscretions are exposed over time, we lose more in compromised creditability. It is better to lose a little with honesty, than a lot with lies.

The devil is an expert in luring us away from the Lord’s desires, by offering a short-term solution—lying, which leads to long-term destructive consequences. Liars are unable to remember their inconsistences, so when confronted they sheepishly say, “I don’t remember or I can’t recall what I said”. Children who chronically lie seem oblivious to it—they continue to fib until the pain of not telling the truth causes them to change.

“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6).

In paradise, the first lie was presented by the serpent as he led Eve to believe she could be like God. Now, every day, we are tempted to promote ourselves as someone better than our real selves. But, Spirit-led living looks to exalt Christ and others, but not ourselves. Being honest is to take responsibility for our actions or inactions and to not blame others.

“The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12-13).

Are you honest with yourself about constant exposure to a compromising situation? Are you loose with the truth, or do you speak directly and include all the information? Take responsibility for your wrong decisions and seek sound advice—friends who will tell you the truth. Be totally honest with them, so that they can offer their best advice of a true situation. But begin by coming clean with Christ—He already knows. Then be totally open and real with others.

“Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning” (Jeremiah 9:5).

What do I need to be honest about with God and myself? Who needs my complete honesty?

Related Readings: Proverbs 12:17, Jeremiah 9:3; Romans 1:25; 1 John 2:21

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