Tonight at our ladies bible study, we were learning what it means to be a wife worth finding. There was a verse about lying and manipulation that stuck with me "When Satan lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." When we lie we are in essence, though perhaps unwittingly, doing the work of the enemy, which reminded me of something I had written years ago and thought I would revisit and post tonight.
I once heard it said that you can trust a thief but not a liar. That line has stuck with me all these years because it is so true. Growing up the one thing that I vividly recall as being a huge NO-NO was lying. It was common knowledge around our household of 6, that if you did something wrong and then lied about it your punishment would be significantly worse. To this day there is nothing that disappoints me more than dishonesty. I would admit that we are all guilty of untruths to some degree, but it seems as though lying has become second- nature, as colloquial as slang.
As Christians we are called to "...keep our lips from speaking lies" {Psalm 34:13} yet the biggest cracks in the kingdom are formed by our lies. Lies are a triple threat in that, we lie to ourselves, we lie to others and we lie, about others, all of which create huge fissures in the foundations of our faith. These cracks start out small and quickly become huge wounds that compromise the strength of our churches, friendships, and ultimately can cause ministries and God's people to crumble.
Every time we fail to admit a weakness we are lying to our self. So many of us, are walking around as though everything is OK, trying to convince ourselves that we have everything together, that we can make it on our own, that we can solve our own problems. THIS IS A LIE and the first threat to our spiritual growth. A huge fissure in our spiritual foundation forms when we start trying to convince ourselves that we have our lives under control. WE DON'T - BUT GOD DOES! Until we can be honest with ourselves, we can never be honest with God. When we stop lying to ourselves and start admitting our weaknesses, hurts, pains and our failings, it is then that God can begin to work through those issues and firm up our spiritual foundations.
God hates a lying tongue {proverbs 6:17}. I find it interesting from a creation aspect how our physical bodies react adversely when we lie, we get anxious and uncomfortable - thus enabling the use of Lie Detectors. We were not created to be deceitful, we were created in God's likeness, we were created for Truth! Yet everyday we are faced with dishonesty and deception. Every lie we utter, every untruth we promote, hinders the progress of the gospel in this world. This is the 2nd threat to the kingdom and to our spiritual foundation.
Ask most non-Christians what one of their biggest stumbling blocks to faith is and many of them will answer Hypocrisy {be it right or wrong}. They see us Christians preaching one thing, but doing another. They witness the dishonesty in our words and actions. Even within church families, relationships and congregations are destroyed through the myriad of lies that are weaved, covered up and ultimately unveiled. Facades of perfection that come crumbling down when the lies can no longer be juggled.
Finally and perhaps most threatening is when we speak lies about one another. This of course can take many forms, from out and out slander to propagating unsubstantiated rumour, gossip or misinformation. Nothing causes dissention in ministry, ends relationships quicker, or impedes God's work more, than false witnesses who pour out lies. The Lord our God hates "...a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." {Proverbs 6:19} so much so, that it is written that "A false witness will not go unpunished and he who pours out lies will perish." {Proverbs 19:9}. I personally think it is naive and a wee bit comical that any of us think we can get away with a lie, that in it's time it will not be revealed. As Christians we should be doing everything in God's power to uplift one another, not looking to tear each other down. If you want a formidable foundation for the Kingdom, if you want Revival to come - then we need to be united in love not divided by lies.
Let me close with this, people will pose the argument that there are occasions where Lying is prudent . I tell you that this in itself is a LIE. There is no situation where lying is justified because God would never place us in a position where we must sin. God will always make a way for His people to avoid sinning! Think on this - God cannot lie, why would He assign to you the task of lying for Him?
As Christians we are called to "...keep our lips from speaking lies" {Psalm 34:13} yet the biggest cracks in the kingdom are formed by our lies. Lies are a triple threat in that, we lie to ourselves, we lie to others and we lie, about others, all of which create huge fissures in the foundations of our faith. These cracks start out small and quickly become huge wounds that compromise the strength of our churches, friendships, and ultimately can cause ministries and God's people to crumble.
Every time we fail to admit a weakness we are lying to our self. So many of us, are walking around as though everything is OK, trying to convince ourselves that we have everything together, that we can make it on our own, that we can solve our own problems. THIS IS A LIE and the first threat to our spiritual growth. A huge fissure in our spiritual foundation forms when we start trying to convince ourselves that we have our lives under control. WE DON'T - BUT GOD DOES! Until we can be honest with ourselves, we can never be honest with God. When we stop lying to ourselves and start admitting our weaknesses, hurts, pains and our failings, it is then that God can begin to work through those issues and firm up our spiritual foundations.
God hates a lying tongue {proverbs 6:17}. I find it interesting from a creation aspect how our physical bodies react adversely when we lie, we get anxious and uncomfortable - thus enabling the use of Lie Detectors. We were not created to be deceitful, we were created in God's likeness, we were created for Truth! Yet everyday we are faced with dishonesty and deception. Every lie we utter, every untruth we promote, hinders the progress of the gospel in this world. This is the 2nd threat to the kingdom and to our spiritual foundation.
Ask most non-Christians what one of their biggest stumbling blocks to faith is and many of them will answer Hypocrisy {be it right or wrong}. They see us Christians preaching one thing, but doing another. They witness the dishonesty in our words and actions. Even within church families, relationships and congregations are destroyed through the myriad of lies that are weaved, covered up and ultimately unveiled. Facades of perfection that come crumbling down when the lies can no longer be juggled.
Finally and perhaps most threatening is when we speak lies about one another. This of course can take many forms, from out and out slander to propagating unsubstantiated rumour, gossip or misinformation. Nothing causes dissention in ministry, ends relationships quicker, or impedes God's work more, than false witnesses who pour out lies. The Lord our God hates "...a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." {Proverbs 6:19} so much so, that it is written that "A false witness will not go unpunished and he who pours out lies will perish." {Proverbs 19:9}. I personally think it is naive and a wee bit comical that any of us think we can get away with a lie, that in it's time it will not be revealed. As Christians we should be doing everything in God's power to uplift one another, not looking to tear each other down. If you want a formidable foundation for the Kingdom, if you want Revival to come - then we need to be united in love not divided by lies.
Let me close with this, people will pose the argument that there are occasions where Lying is prudent . I tell you that this in itself is a LIE. There is no situation where lying is justified because God would never place us in a position where we must sin. God will always make a way for His people to avoid sinning! Think on this - God cannot lie, why would He assign to you the task of lying for Him?
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