While I was running errands a few days ago, I saw someone wearing a T-shirt that said “Make Lying Wrong Again”.  I found it very amusing and got a good chuckle out of it.  As I thought about it however, I realized that it was a much-needed sentiment in our world today and even though the shirt was clever and intended as a joke, the reality of it is quite real and sad.

I am sure there is not one person reading this that has not lied at some time in their life.  I am certainly guilty of lying. Sometimes lies are innocent and perhaps told to protect the feelings of another person. Some examples might be when you say you are happy to see someone when you aren’t.  Another is when someone has a new baby and they ask you “Isn’t my baby the cutest one you have ever seen?” Clearly the child isn’t.  I also think it would be okay to tell a lie to save a potential victim from a person who is looking to harm them.  No one is deceived by these words and no one is harmed in the attempts to be kind or save someone’s life.

Sadly most of our lies are not those kinds but of the nature to try and gain some advantage over someone to make ourselves appear better to others or ourselves.  We might be trying to dupe others into something to gain a financial profit like the Ponzi schemes. We might try to make someone else look bad to give the impression we are somehow superior like so many of our politicians from each party do.  Probably the most common is  lie to get out of a jam that might shine a bad light on us.

Lying is not a new issue and has been with us as long as there have been humans on Earth.  Early in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis 4:9 we read these words which came soon after Cain had killed his brother:  Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know.  Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Again in Genesis 37:31-32 we read the following words Joseph’s brothers said to their father Jacob after they had sold him to the Ishmaelites: Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe to their father Jacob and said, “We found this.  Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe”.

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we find the account of Jesus warning the disciples one of them would deny him three times before the cock crowed.  They all assured him they wouldn’t but Peter lied three times that he did not know Jesus.

Whether you are a head of state, a disciple or a five-year-old-child, the biggest problem with lying is you damage the trust others put in you. When you tell the truth and do what you say you are going to do, you build trust.  If your actions are not in harmony with your thoughts and your words, they make your life a lie.  Not only are you lying to others but to yourself as well.

 In Proverbs 12:22 these words make it very clear how the Lord feels about lying:  The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are  trustworthy”.

God wants us to be tellers of truth to others and to ourselves and live in his image. Lying has always been wrong, but “Make Lying Wrong Again” is a good reminder to us as we go about our lives. Thank God for his unconditional love and his forgiveness for our sins, both big and small and help us to be truth telling and trustworthy people.

Patty