This entry is part 7 of 12 in the series: True Love

Love rejoices in the truth and not in iniquity (1 Cor 13:6). The character of Christ is one of honesty and integrity.

If we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ then we must stop lying. That’s right, stop telling flat-out lies to yourself, to people, and especially to God! That means saying things that we know are not true, or withholding part of the truth in order to gain approval, favor, or escape punishment or disapproval. Lying is also pretending to be something we are not for the same reasons.

It’s sad when I come across Christians who say they love one another, but they have no problem telling lies — they do it without even losing sleep! It seems like they have no conviction. Lying ought to bother us especially when it’s the prominent attribute of Satan (John 8:43-44). The word says:

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds (Col 3:9 KJV).

All lying is wrong. You can’t justify lying. There are no white lies and no small lies. All lies are evil and God says that “All liars will have their part in the lake of fire” (Rev 21:8). All you have to do is tell one lie to be considered a liar by God.

As Christians, we ought to want to be like Jesus who is “The Truth” (John 14:6). I believe if we discover WHY we lie, and remove those stumbling blocks, it will free us to be the honest Christians God called us to be.

3 reasons why we lie

1. We lie because we’ve sinned, and we want to hide our faults.
   Solution: stop doing the sin, repent and confess it.
2. We lie because we’re pretending to be something we’re not.
   Solution: stop pretending, know your identity in Christ and accept who you are.
3. We lie because we fear the disapproval of others.
   Solution: just please God, rather than men because men are never satisfied and men can’t get you to heaven.

If you’ve been lying, now is the time to, STOP, REPENT and CONFESS. Then ask the Spirit how to move on from there. Lying often causes so much problems and we need the Spirit to show us how to clean the mess up.

Whatever our reasons for lying are, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for the power to be honest and to tell the truth on a daily basis from now on, because God requires honesty among his fellowship, to the world (when preaching the gospel) and with him in prayer.

God loves us enough and gives us room to repent, so thank God for his mercy and grace (Titus 2:11-12 NIV). Now let’s use it to change, be honest, and be like Christ. When we align our lives with God, we will cease from lying, there will be nothing to hide, and the truth can always flow through us.

Other references:

• Lies are soon found out, but the truth last forever (CEV) (Proverbs 12:19).
• The account of Ananias and Sapphira being slain by God for lying (Acts 5:1-10).