We are now living in an era where falsehoods, and lying every hue, has become the order of the day. And because the multitudes do not usually rise any higher than those who have jurisdiction over them, a cascading, trickle-down effect has now taken root, to the point where it does not seem to bother our consciences anymore. Whereas before, some folks would recoil in horror when blatant lies were being spoken, many people are now quite content to sit and listen to falsehoods with an eager interest that is quite alarming.
However, the Bible teaches us that “lying lips are an abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are his delight”. Yet, lying has become an integral part of our culture, from the highest echelons of society to the beggar on the street corner, from fraudulent advertisements, to fake news, the practice has now reached epidemic proportions, and it has now been incorporated as a mainstay to our society. In many cases, lying is now considered a vital and important asset to achieving success.
Not only are these falsehoods being told by some, recycled by others, and regurgitated by the news media, but many are now living a lie, both in the spiritual, and temporal realm. Accountability, and authenticity are rare commodities, and the truth, in any form has now become an endangered species.
In addition, several very adverse by-products of the phenomena are now on display, for wherever the spirit of falsehood is indulged, injustice, cruelty, and a callous disregard for each other will become the order of the day, as the prophet Isaiah outlined, as he referenced the last days of earth’s history. Let’s read:
Isaiah 59:9 We wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
When it was repeated several times on this forum, that the real tragedy of June 26th, 2015, was that millions of evil spirits had been let loose across the land, we were not implying that people would begin to see fallen angels showing up in their backyards, because that is highly unlikely, just yet. What will be seen instead are the evidences, and by-products of their presence, which must inevitably include lies of every shape, and color, for this is the currency evil spirits deal in, according to the Bible. Let’s read:
John 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them,
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of
your father ye will do.
He abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Therefore, it’s now necessary for us to have a clear understanding of what constitutes falsehood, how it can, and should be avoided, and how we may work in harmony with The Holy Spirit, so that truthfulness can become second nature to us. We will also take several examples of the practice, so we may better understand how we are all affected by it in our own personal experiences. Let’s read:
Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
[Patriarchs & Prophets. pp 309] False speaking in any matter, every attempt, or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here included. An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, a falsehood may be told as effectually as by words.
All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation calculated to convey an erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. This precept forbids every effort to injure our neighbor's reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmising, by slander or tale bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others, is a violation of the ninth commandment.
Two very important words stand out in the above excerpt, of which we should be cognizant, for very many people may not understand or recognize this brand of lying for what it is. The two words are “Evil Surmising”. So let’s ask Mr. Webster for the correct interpretation of these words:
Sur·mise
verb
gerund or present participle: surmising
sərˈmīz/
To suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it. "He surmised that something must be wrong"
Synonyms: guess, conjecture, suspect, deduce, infer, conclude, theorize, speculate, etc.
Now, there are obviously many different forms of lying, and even though we cannot address each, and every kind, because of the constraints of time and space, yet we will study a few of the more common forms, in which lying is displayed.
[1] Exaggeration: Whenever any matter is blown out of proportion, and wherever additional phantom details are added, there we have a manifestation of lying lips. For example, when the twelve spies were sent to spy out the land of Canaan, they all began to recount their experiences truthfully. But when the two faithful ones, Joshua and Caleb suggested that they go up at once to take possession of the land, the unwarranted fears of the other ten drove them to change their tune, and to greatly exaggerate the difficulties that existed. In addition, they began to add some phantom details, which were figments of their own imagination. Let’s read:
Numbers 13:25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Exaggeration also takes place in our day in several different forms, but it’s accepted as being the norm, and is almost expected as a business practice. When vehicles are taken to some mechanic shops, or the dealerships, the work that needs to be done is often blown out of proportion and greatly exaggerated so as to justify substantial increases in cost. Let’s take for example a simple request for a general check up on your favorite Ford or Chevy.
Old Betsy came in working just fine, but because a “general” check-up was requested, a long, extensive laundry list of must dos, is sometimes suggested, often with the warning, that if the work is not done immediately, Betsy will blow up on your way home. Thus, old faithful has just been diagnosed as an I.E.D instead or your faithful daily driver. This is a form of exaggeration and according to the Bible, is recorded in the column of “Lying lips”.
[2] Business Lying: False advertisements which may claim that certain products deliver you guaranteed results, when this is not the case, is a form of lying. This form is particularly prevalent today, and is too often indulged by industries, and corporations alike. When the good that a product delivers is touted in clear, understandable language, only to be followed by an individual rapidly rattling off a barrage of its negative side effects, like an auctioneer, so that it’s impossible for us to understand; this too is a form of lying.
Again, tradesmen, and businesses should not take down-payments for work, and not show up at the appointed time. Neither should inferior materials be used, without the prior consent of the consumer, to increase one’s profit margin. For example, Chinese drywall should not be used in place of much better materials, when the consumer has paid for durable goods and services.
Companies, as well as tradesmen should not try to get out of fulfilling warranties for work done, or for goods and services rendered, by referring to those “Fine prints” in the contract, that a person needs a powerful binocular to see. Payments for goods and services should be mutually agreed upon, prior to the work being done, and not afterward. In other words, to wait until a company has done it’s work, to inform them that one does not have their funds ready for payment, is a form of lying, and should not be practiced by anyone, let alone Christians.
[3] Lying in relationships: Husbands and wives should not have differing agendas when interacting with their children, where mom or dad may say or do things secretly with the kids, which they know the other does not approve of, or has not mutually agreed to. Christian parents should provide a united front to their children, and wherever there are any disagreements, then these should be resolved first between husband and wife, but never privately with the kids, and one spouse, with the other being left out of the loop.
Again, husbands and wives should not have in their possession, private email servers, where phantom online visitors of the opposite sex may visit in the wee hours of the morning. And spouses should not become nervous or upset, if the other finds their phone by accident, for neither should have anything to hide. Truthfulness, openness, integrity, honesty, and total access should be characteristics cultivated within the marriage. But lying, of any, and all sorts should be avoided like the plague. Let’s read:
Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
[4] Acting a lie. Several examples of this common form of lying, are given in the scriptures. When Judas greeted Christ with the words “Hail Master” he was acting a lie, for he was currently engaged in the nefarious work of backstabbing. When Ananias and Sapphira came to church, greeting the brethren with a holy kiss, and singing songs of praises, they were acting a lie, for they had deliberately planned to swindle God of His dues.
When Peter was in the court of Caiaphas, mingling casually with the people who had arrested Jesus, and listening to the vulgar jokes about Christ, then seeming to laugh with the mob, he also was acting a lie. When he resorted to swearing and cursing, in order to prove that he was not a Christian, he was acting a lie. When young Christians try to party more than the people in the world, to try to prove that they are on the same page with them, they too are acting a lie, because they are dancing against the pricks of conscience.
And lying can take some strange twists and turns for those like David, who tried in vain to extricate his person from looming difficulties, after he had done the unthinkable, and had sinned with Bathsheba. He tried first to encourage her husband Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba, so that the time frame for the child’s birth would raise no questions. That apparent interest in having Uriah see his wife was a lie, and it did not work, because one lie often leads to another.
Next he tried drugging Uriah with alcohol so that he could sleep under the influence, S.U.I, if you please. But that also did not work because for some strange reason, Uriah refused to go to his house. And now, as all hope of extrication seemed to be fast fading, David resorted to something which he may not have done under different circumstances, he made his faithful soldier, Uriah, the bearer of his own death sentence, after which he sent for his wife, and hastily got married, so as to force the time frame for the child’s birth into nine months.
This also did not work, for there is a God in heaven, and even though we may conceal our activities from all mortal eyes, yet the Bible tells us that everything we do is not only open and naked unto God, but is also being recorded live, whether it be day or night, or in between. Let’s read:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
[G.C. pp 486] Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned, and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to witness against the sinner in the day of God. He may have committed his evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night; but they were open and manifest before Him with whom we have to do. Angels of God witnessed each sin, and registered it in the unerring records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up from father, mother, wife, children, and associates.
No one but the guilty actors may cherish the least suspicion of the wrong; but it is laid bare before the intelligences of Heaven. The darkness of the darkest night, the secrecy of all deceptive arts, is not sufficient to veil one thought from the knowledge of the Eternal. God has an exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing. He is not deceived by appearances of piety. He makes no mistakes in his estimation of character. Men may be deceived by those who are corrupt in heart, but God pierces all disguises, and reads the inner life.
In closing, The Lord desires that we deal in the truth only, the currency of heaven which bears His name and superscription. If we have to think first before speaking, or acting truthfully, then, truthfulness has not yet become second nature, which means that we need special grace from God, so that if we were shaken inside out, and upside down, the truth only, and nothing but the truth will come out. Which leads us to our last passage of meditation:
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
God bless!