A lady was walking down the street and saw several children standing around a kitten. She asked them what they were doing. “We’re having a contest,” said one little girl. “The one who tells the biggest lie, wins the kitten. “Naughty, naughty,“ the woman replied. “When I was a little girl, I never told a lie.” The children looked at each other, huddled together, and then a boy spoke up. “Give her the cat. We can’t beat her.”
When was the last time you told a lie? To whom did you lie? What did you hope to accomplish with the lie? Is lying all right as long as it is for a good reason? Does lying violate the truth and violate trust? Is lying like building on a decaying foundation? Is honesty in a friend an important characteristic? Has our country seen an alarming decline in basic honesty? Are we a nation of liars as was stated in a U.S. News article? Do we agree with an elected official who recently commented, “We all make promises with no intent to keep them. All of us will lie when we have to, or when it serves our purposes. One quality needed in public figures today is the ability to tell a lie and make it believable to his constituents.” Could one say that in today’s world being a good liar is a necessary tool for success? Is there a prevailing attitude that if you can get away with it and it helps you go ahead and lie?
I was brought up with the basic belief that the truth matters. My mother told her ten children that it was a sin to tell a lie. She also let them know that if they lied, they had better have a good memory, so they would not be found later contradicting their lie. The worst correction we received was for not being truthful. What parent is there who does not desire his children to be completely honest? Parents, do we ever choose to lie to our children? Also, when we tell them about Jesus, would we ever tell them He lied?
Some think that changing what they call a lie makes it acceptable. They don’t lie, but use deceptive words, a clever dodge, are guilty of fabrication, have been technically incorrect, are good at manipulation of the facts, stretched the truth, told a whopper, just tell little white lies, and my favorite, have used a terminological inexactitude. Whatever terms one may decide to use, a lie by any other name is still a lie!
Who’s telling lies? How long would the list be? What about advertisers? Do we really believe what most politicians say? Does anyone ever pad an expense account with inaccurate information? Is every fish caught and athletic accomplishment claimed true? Is time off from work ever taken under the pretense of illness? Does anyone misreport his taxes, or do the American people prepare their tax returns with all the known truth? Do job applications, career credentials and educational achievements ever contain altered statements? Lawyers? I would like to hear, “The one I’m defending has said he is not guilty. He’s not being truthful. I’m convinced he committed the crime, but I will do my best during his trial to confuse and bewilder you 12 gullible citizens with enough wrangling, silly doubts and double talk so you will overlook the evidence and let this loathsome creature off with a slap of his hand.” Our current legal system would not survive if lawyers all of a sudden began telling the truth and nothing but the truth. Then, would a husband or wife be untruthful with a spouse? What a list! Some will lie and do whatever necessary to succeed, beat the competition, get the desired support, avoid looking bad, get even with and destroy someone not liked, receive undeserved credit and praise, escape the consequences of their actions, receive desired attention, get wanted sympathy, stay out of trouble, not be held personally accountable, and to get something they want.
When one lies, he will lose the trust of close friends and advisers. He may even send some out to speak what he says is the truth, knowing the whole time it was a lie. Lying destroys relationships between friends and in families, and lying contributes to continued immaturity. Some get to where they even begin to believe the lies they have told. It is sad when lying becomes a terrible habit, and people are blinded to the truth.
God’s Word says the devil “is a liar, and the father of lies… you have not lied to men, but to God… the Lord hates a lying tongue… you shall not lie about your neighbor… you have made this people trust a lie… they exchanged the truth of God for a lie… do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices… it is impossible for God to lie… it is better to be poor than a liar.”
Liars will not go to Heaven (Revelation 21:8; 22:15). Are there still Pinocchio’s around?
