"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body."
Ephesians 4:25
“Thou shalt not lie.” It’s one of the ten commandments that’s easiest to remember. And in theory, it’s simple. Just, don’t lie. We tend to pat ourselves on the backs for this one, don’t we? As long as we don’t go out of our way to say something blatantly untrue, we’re pretty much doing okay, right? I’m not so sure. The Bible refers to Satan as the father of lies. (John 8:44) When the enemy tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he didn’t show up with obvious lies—he used Scripture with a couple changes and without context, twisting truth just enough to make deception sound believable. That's how dishonesty works and sneaks into our lives. I think often we maybe think we never lie, when there’s a lot more dishonesty in our lives than we would like to admit.
Dishonesty and lies have a lot of different forms, and just like the devil, dishonesty tends to be sneaky and disguises itself so that you don’t immediately recognize it for what it is. Do you ever find yourself intentionally omitting the truth from someone you know you should share it with, because if you told them it might make life difficult? Do you ever say you had plans so you can’t grab coffee with that person, when you know good and well you don’t have plans? Do you ever lie to yourself saying something is fine when it isn’t, or telling yourself something is okay when your conscience is screaming that it’s not? Lying to yourself and saying you can do it on your own when you know you need help may not be malicious, but it’s still a lie and depriving you of the fullness of truth. The Bible doesn’t say “Thou shalt not lie, unless it’s a small lie because telling the truth would be a hassle or result in an unpleasant conversation.” It says, don’t lie. It’s that simple.
It’s not that I want to sound harsh here, I’m guilty of this too. We view lying as this malicious thing, but it isn’t always deceit with the intent to hurt. I say this not with any ounce of condemnation, but with encouragement because I’m learning that lies are nothing more than the absence, and often the distortion, of truth; and the Bible makes it clear that the truth brings life. When we live our lives with dishonesty, we’re staining our consciences and depriving ourselves of the fullness of joy that comes from a life full of honesty. 3 John 1:4 says "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” John 8:32 says if we are His disciples, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. Living in truth brings joy and freedom, couldn’t we all use a little more of that? As you go through this week I encourage you to ask yourself and take it into prayer, where has a lack of honesty snuck into your life? Where have you been lying to yourself or telling small lies to avoid difficult conversations? Where in your life can you make more room for the fullness of life and joy that comes from a life lived fully in the truth? The biggest lie I’ve ever told myself, was to say that I never lie, how about you?
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