A Bible verse about deceit:
“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4
God hates liars.
I think that we all do, but God seems to find a liar especially detestable. Further along in Proverbs, it is mentioned that there are six things that the Lord hates, and a liar is one of them.
This theme is repeated throughout different books of the Bible; it seems pretty consistent.
Perhaps it’s because every liar is a mini-representation of the “Father of Lies,” otherwise known as Satan.
Of further importance, every opportunity that a liar has chosen to lie is a demonstration that a liar has sided with Satan over God.
It’s like that classic representation of the person with the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other.
When we lie, we’re choosing the devil over the angel, and I’m sure that disheartens God.
I’ve refrained from sharing too much personal information on this blog, but I think this following story is a perfect analogy:
We’re going through a phase right now with our daughter where she prefers “Mommy” for almost everything.
When my wife is at work, there is no issue. Our daughter is more than happy to have my help in using the potty, being put to bed, being consoled or me playing with her.
She seems genuinely delighted with my presence, and the feeling is mutual.
That being said, when my wife and I are together, it is a struggle for me to do anything with our daughter (except playing, she still enjoys that).
She wants mommy to put her to bed, bring her to the toilet, wash her hands, pick her up, clean her up after eating, and to read to her.
She even goes so far as to bring daddy a separate book to read on my own while she brings mommy a book to read to her.
Night time is the worst; if she wakes up in the middle of the night (which has been happening frequently), she is inconsolable without mommy.
Try as I might, my presence only seems to make things worse, and it breaks my heart.
First, I feel like I am being disowned by my own child – like she doesn’t love me. Furthermore, I feel guilty for letting my wife down.
Because she’s the one who has to constantly provide what our daughter needs, she’s exhausted. Even though I am the one being rejected, I feel guilty that the burden falls on my wife.
And so, the analogy is that you and I, when faced with an opportunity to lie, have to choose between whom to run to.
Do we choose mommy? Or do we choose daddy?
Maybe that isn’t the perfect analogy because I’m not comparing my wife to God, and I’m not comparing myself to Satan, and I’m certainly not calling my daughter a liar.
I think that maybe the roles could be exchanged at any point and the analogy still holds true.
What I mean is that being honest and truthful is a habitual characteristic. Habits are tendencies that are developed over time and repeated exposure.
If we choose the same outcome time and time again, chances are that when faced with the same situation, we’ll resort to what we’ve done in the past.
So if our daughter continually chooses mommy, then it makes sense that she’ll want that choice when she needs someone.
I believe that’s how people become pathological liars – repeated experiences of lying.
Additionally, we have to consider our reputation in terms of lying. Being honest is an admirable characteristic. Honesty develops trust. It can take a lifetime to earn someone’s trust, and only a second to break it.
We should be even more concerned with the trust that we’re earning or losing with God. Because He is ultimately the one that we’re lying to, and just remember how much He despises those that lie.
You might think that you’re telling a little “white lie” to your spouse, but ultimately the result is the same. You choose to seek Satan over God, and perhaps that is what is most upsetting.
Oddly enough, today’s reading from The Purpose Driven Life also speaks about lying, and Satan. Rick Warren explains that Satan is incapable of telling the truth.
These lies are manifested as thoughts in our minds, and they can come at any moment. They’re usually thoughts that appeal to our vanity or gratification – things that we SHOULD have or things that we DESERVE.
That’s Satan telling us the lie through our thoughts. What we choose to do from there is our choice.
Will we choose mommy or daddy?
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