Post by Cindy on Jul 26, 2016 9:58:26 GMT -5
Is honesty always the best policy? Or are there times when it may be best to lie? Ethicists may debate whether certain circumstances justify deception, but Scripture seems clear that lying leads to trouble. Deceit turns on its source, exacting a high price in the long run.
For example, Hananiah the prophet misled the people of Judah by denouncing Jeremiah’s prophecy and then giving a prophecy of his own, preceded by the words, “Thus says the Lord.” But in fact, the Lord had not spoken to him (Jer. 28:10–11). That kind of false prophecy was a grievous sin, punishable by death (Deut. 13:1–5). Not surprisingly, the Lord called Hananiah to pay for his deception with his life (Jer. 28:15–17).
The Bible gives numerous other examples to show that “he who speaks lies shall perish” (Prov. 19:9), and that the Lord hates dishonesty (Proverbs 6:16–19):
• Sin and death were introduced into the world because a lie was told and believed (Gen. 3:1–7; 1 Tim. 2:14).
• Cain tried to lie his way out of accountability for killing his brother Abel. The result was a lifetime of running from others (Gen. 4:1–16).
• Rebekah engineered a lie for her son Jacob to tell his father Isaac in order to gain the family blessing. The result was estrangement in the family and generations of hostility between the offspring of the two brothers (Gen. 27:5–17, Gen. 27:41–46).
• Joseph’s brothers lied to their father about selling the boy to slave traders, resulting in profound heartache for their father (Gen. 37:28–35).
• Potiphar’s wife crafted a lie to frame Joseph with attempted rape, resulting in an unjust prison sentence (Gen. 39:7–20).
• David practiced a gruesome form of deception by arranging for the murder of Uriah to cover up his affair with Bathsheba. Through Nathan the prophet the lie was exposed. Bathsheba’s child died, and a lifetime of painful relationships ensued in David’s family (2 Sam. 11–12).
• Peter denied that he even knew the Lord when asked by several bystanders in the courtyard of Caiaphas’ house, resulting in great shame and sorrow (Matt. 26:69–74).
• Ananias and Sapphira lied to the early church and the Holy Spirit about a financial gift, which brought about their untimely death (Acts 5:1–11).
Jesus spoke clearly about the nature of lying when he declared that lies are of the devil (John 8:44). By contrast, Jesus is the source of all truth, and those who speak and practice the truth show that they belong to Him (John 14:6; 1 John 3:19). Are you a person of truth and integrity, or is lying a way of life with you?
Word in life study Bible.
Satan is the master liar and has been so since the beginning. We all know that, and we all know that Satan is always the one behind any lie, no matter how small or how large it is. But we tend to forget that and make all kinds of excuses for the lies we tell, making it seem as though we are actually lying to help someone. However, that too is a lie. It's a lie to ourselves because we don't want to face the truth. God never lies. Never! And His Will is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. We also know that is true. Therefore, how can we make excuses for our lies? I've even heard Christians make the excuse that people in the scriptures lie and some of them are godly men or women. That's ridiculous, because some of those same people also murdered or committed adultery, or were prostitutes, and yet we wouldn't consider saying that it's ok to do those things! When we tell a "little white lie", often about how someone looks, or how their clothes look, what we're really doing is not allowing them the opportunity to know the Truth and accept it. We can also be causing them to look like a fool when they were counting on us to prevent it.
My mother actually taught me that one day when she put on one of my dresses that she liked and asked me how it looked on her. I didn't want to, but I was honest and told her that it really didn't look good; that it looked like an older woman trying to look like a teenager. I wasn't being mean, I was acting in love, to prevent my mother from looking foolish and that's how she took it. Of course, when we do tell the truth, the person may also choose not to believe us, or not to believe we were saying it in love. But that is their choice. God requires us to speak the truth in love. It's up to the other person to respond in love and grow in their faith, or not to do so. So you see, we are each always being given the choice of speaking the truth in love, or the choice of responding to the truth in love. We can choose God's way, or Satan and the world's way.
Most people, both men and women hate it when they're asked by someone if something looks good on them, or if their hair looks good etc. We hate having to make a judgment call like that. Unless it's something that's really obvious, such as the dress my mother was going to try and wear that would make her look foolish, there is another way we can respond without having to tell them that we don't like what they're wearing or how they've fixed their hair, etc. Since we all have different kinds of likes and dislikes, we could simply say something along the lines of "that style isn't something I particularly like, but if you do, that's great." In other words, stressing that styles, colors, etc are something that vary individually, and not something anyone can say outright is bad for another person. In that way, we aren't lying, and haven't had to tell them they look awful. The problem is that we get caught by someone asking something like this and we haven't got time to think about an answer. So the thing to do is to sit down and think about it now, so that the next time it happens, you'll be ready and able to speak the truth with love. Ask yourself how you would want someone to reply to you. Ask what you think the person is really asking - do they have doubts about their ability to choose things that look good together, are they unsure about today's fashions or styles, or are they really looking for you to tell them that you love and accept them?
I've also heard Christians argue that it's ok to lie if it's to save someone's life, especially a child's life. Yet I don't see that anywhere in the Bible. In fact, I've seen the opposite. Many believers in the early church were killed for their belief, we all know that. What we tend to not think about is that many of their children were also killed. Those early believers knew that was a possibility and they made sure their children knew all about the Lord because they wanted to be sure that their children would be going to heaven too, but also because they wanted to their children to know that they too could die for this belief. I'm sure those children were also taught that they would live forever with their parents and the Lord and that they really had nothing to fear from death. The same should be true today, in that children should be made aware that belief in Jesus could be a death sentence some day. We've been very blessed in America to be able to worship freely, but that could end. And in fact, we've seen news reports of young teenagers, and adults that have been killed for being Christians, right here in America. No one wants to see any child die, but if they do, we want to be sure of where they're going, especially if they're anywhere near the age of accountability. Regardless of whether a child or adult is killed for their beliefs or due to a crime spree, there is no reason for them to die without knowing where they're going and that they have nothing to fear from it. God never tells us to sin for any reason and lying is a sin. There simply are no ways around that fact. The bottom line should be to always tell the truth with love, leaving the consequences, whatever they may be, up to the Lord who we are supposed to trust. If we lie to save someone's life, (or for any other reason) then what we are really saying is that we don't trust God or His plan for us or the children, or His ability to make everything work for our good; or perhaps that we don't like God's plans and think our own ideas are better than His.
For example, Hananiah the prophet misled the people of Judah by denouncing Jeremiah’s prophecy and then giving a prophecy of his own, preceded by the words, “Thus says the Lord.” But in fact, the Lord had not spoken to him (Jer. 28:10–11). That kind of false prophecy was a grievous sin, punishable by death (Deut. 13:1–5). Not surprisingly, the Lord called Hananiah to pay for his deception with his life (Jer. 28:15–17).
The Bible gives numerous other examples to show that “he who speaks lies shall perish” (Prov. 19:9), and that the Lord hates dishonesty (Proverbs 6:16–19):
• Sin and death were introduced into the world because a lie was told and believed (Gen. 3:1–7; 1 Tim. 2:14).
• Cain tried to lie his way out of accountability for killing his brother Abel. The result was a lifetime of running from others (Gen. 4:1–16).
• Rebekah engineered a lie for her son Jacob to tell his father Isaac in order to gain the family blessing. The result was estrangement in the family and generations of hostility between the offspring of the two brothers (Gen. 27:5–17, Gen. 27:41–46).
• Joseph’s brothers lied to their father about selling the boy to slave traders, resulting in profound heartache for their father (Gen. 37:28–35).
• Potiphar’s wife crafted a lie to frame Joseph with attempted rape, resulting in an unjust prison sentence (Gen. 39:7–20).
• David practiced a gruesome form of deception by arranging for the murder of Uriah to cover up his affair with Bathsheba. Through Nathan the prophet the lie was exposed. Bathsheba’s child died, and a lifetime of painful relationships ensued in David’s family (2 Sam. 11–12).
• Peter denied that he even knew the Lord when asked by several bystanders in the courtyard of Caiaphas’ house, resulting in great shame and sorrow (Matt. 26:69–74).
• Ananias and Sapphira lied to the early church and the Holy Spirit about a financial gift, which brought about their untimely death (Acts 5:1–11).
Jesus spoke clearly about the nature of lying when he declared that lies are of the devil (John 8:44). By contrast, Jesus is the source of all truth, and those who speak and practice the truth show that they belong to Him (John 14:6; 1 John 3:19). Are you a person of truth and integrity, or is lying a way of life with you?
Word in life study Bible.
Satan is the master liar and has been so since the beginning. We all know that, and we all know that Satan is always the one behind any lie, no matter how small or how large it is. But we tend to forget that and make all kinds of excuses for the lies we tell, making it seem as though we are actually lying to help someone. However, that too is a lie. It's a lie to ourselves because we don't want to face the truth. God never lies. Never! And His Will is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. We also know that is true. Therefore, how can we make excuses for our lies? I've even heard Christians make the excuse that people in the scriptures lie and some of them are godly men or women. That's ridiculous, because some of those same people also murdered or committed adultery, or were prostitutes, and yet we wouldn't consider saying that it's ok to do those things! When we tell a "little white lie", often about how someone looks, or how their clothes look, what we're really doing is not allowing them the opportunity to know the Truth and accept it. We can also be causing them to look like a fool when they were counting on us to prevent it.
My mother actually taught me that one day when she put on one of my dresses that she liked and asked me how it looked on her. I didn't want to, but I was honest and told her that it really didn't look good; that it looked like an older woman trying to look like a teenager. I wasn't being mean, I was acting in love, to prevent my mother from looking foolish and that's how she took it. Of course, when we do tell the truth, the person may also choose not to believe us, or not to believe we were saying it in love. But that is their choice. God requires us to speak the truth in love. It's up to the other person to respond in love and grow in their faith, or not to do so. So you see, we are each always being given the choice of speaking the truth in love, or the choice of responding to the truth in love. We can choose God's way, or Satan and the world's way.
Most people, both men and women hate it when they're asked by someone if something looks good on them, or if their hair looks good etc. We hate having to make a judgment call like that. Unless it's something that's really obvious, such as the dress my mother was going to try and wear that would make her look foolish, there is another way we can respond without having to tell them that we don't like what they're wearing or how they've fixed their hair, etc. Since we all have different kinds of likes and dislikes, we could simply say something along the lines of "that style isn't something I particularly like, but if you do, that's great." In other words, stressing that styles, colors, etc are something that vary individually, and not something anyone can say outright is bad for another person. In that way, we aren't lying, and haven't had to tell them they look awful. The problem is that we get caught by someone asking something like this and we haven't got time to think about an answer. So the thing to do is to sit down and think about it now, so that the next time it happens, you'll be ready and able to speak the truth with love. Ask yourself how you would want someone to reply to you. Ask what you think the person is really asking - do they have doubts about their ability to choose things that look good together, are they unsure about today's fashions or styles, or are they really looking for you to tell them that you love and accept them?
I've also heard Christians argue that it's ok to lie if it's to save someone's life, especially a child's life. Yet I don't see that anywhere in the Bible. In fact, I've seen the opposite. Many believers in the early church were killed for their belief, we all know that. What we tend to not think about is that many of their children were also killed. Those early believers knew that was a possibility and they made sure their children knew all about the Lord because they wanted to be sure that their children would be going to heaven too, but also because they wanted to their children to know that they too could die for this belief. I'm sure those children were also taught that they would live forever with their parents and the Lord and that they really had nothing to fear from death. The same should be true today, in that children should be made aware that belief in Jesus could be a death sentence some day. We've been very blessed in America to be able to worship freely, but that could end. And in fact, we've seen news reports of young teenagers, and adults that have been killed for being Christians, right here in America. No one wants to see any child die, but if they do, we want to be sure of where they're going, especially if they're anywhere near the age of accountability. Regardless of whether a child or adult is killed for their beliefs or due to a crime spree, there is no reason for them to die without knowing where they're going and that they have nothing to fear from it. God never tells us to sin for any reason and lying is a sin. There simply are no ways around that fact. The bottom line should be to always tell the truth with love, leaving the consequences, whatever they may be, up to the Lord who we are supposed to trust. If we lie to save someone's life, (or for any other reason) then what we are really saying is that we don't trust God or His plan for us or the children, or His ability to make everything work for our good; or perhaps that we don't like God's plans and think our own ideas are better than His.
!!
