We have all told a lie at one time or another.
Lying is first mentioned in Genesis 3:1-24 when the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden.
God Is Truth
God knew when He created the human race that by nature man would fall short. So to better understand this subject of lying is to know that God is truth (John 14:6-7). The basis of Christianity and why we are Christians is because we believe in God’s truth. Truth is fundamental in our walk with Christ; we should all be seeking His direction in every area of our lives.
One Of The Ten Commandments
Thou Shall not bear false witness is the ninth commandment. To the Lord the truth is so consequential that He made it into a commandment.
God Is Our GPS
On Sunday I gave our grandson Lucas and three other friends a ride to the movies. Lucas entered the address on Waze, an app for driving directions. Waze got us there but because, I was not accustomed to using this app, I could not shut it off. All the way home it continued to inform me to make a U-turn. There was little I could do to stop the noise. Finally when I got home, Jacob, our other grandson, shut down the voices that were driving me crazy.
Although I knew my way home because of this device, I got a little disoriented. “Am I going the right way?” I asked myself. If we truly believe God is our modern day GPS, the Holy Spirit will alert us to all the untruths that penetrate our minds.
Teach The Truth
The students I teach have been well catechized about telling the truth. I remind them, “If you are lying, your heart will beat faster. That is God reminding you to always tell the truth. Remember the Devil is the Father of Lies.”
When a parent or role model lies and their lies are accepted as truth, this becomes problematic. People who lie, especially compulsive liars, lack conviction deep within their souls. They have become so accustomed to their lies that it’s part of their nature. This habitual behavior is all they know. So perhaps it may not be a generational curse, but is it a learned behavior?
For instance, if a child’s father was an alcoholic and beat the child’s mother, this abusive behavior could be passed on to the child. It’s the same with lying.
The Danger Of Lies
When we owned our tortilla factory the position of Human Resources fell under my responsibility. I did all the hiring and disciplinary action if we had problems with employees. I hired a friend of ours to deliver our product out of state. This person was a long haul driver.
Whopper Lies
One day I was notified that the man I had hired, this personal friend, failed to show up for work. When I called him he told me that his pregnant wife was in a car accident. I felt so bad and totally dismissed his absence. In those days we had handwritten applications with phone numbers for emergency contacts. I was concerned about his wife and the welfare of their baby. On his application he had listed his mother-in-law as a contact. When I called his mother-in-law and asked about her daughter, the woman was confused. She told me that her daughter was never in an accident and that her daughter had just left her house.
The Outcome
This unsettling news about this horrific lie did not sit well with me. So I called out the lie to the driver. But instead of being apologetic, he became enraged. Shortly after that incident notes were left on my desk with images of tombstones with my name written on them saying R.I.P. Needless to say the man was fired. This happened in the 90’s and messages like these were not considered that threatening; nevertheless, this man’s actions made me very uncomfortable.
2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. By injuring man’s relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.
2484 The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.
2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. the deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. the culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.
This is From Psychology Today
