Proverbs 6:16-17

There are six things the Lord hates— no, seven things he detests: a lying tongue…

Its easy to understand why God would hate really big lies…but is every lie we tell worthy of His hatred? Even the little white ones?

In their book “The Day America Told the Truth,” authors James Patterson and Peter Kim revealed that 91 percent of Americans lie on a daily basis. Lying takes on many different forms. It might show up disguised as flattery…or exaggeration…or gossip. Sometimes, our silence can be a form of lying – we choose not to speak the truth. Of course it shows up in more obvious ways, too. In your explanation for being late…or why you didn’t complete your assignment. In claiming, “I knew that” when you didn’t. Saying “I’ve done that, too” when you never have. On and on it goes.

God is Truth and Satan is the father of Lies and when you lie…you speak the devil’s natural language (Jn. 8:44). Lying is destructive – it harms the one lied to as well as the liar. Lying distorts reality…just like Satan does (“Did God really say?”). Sometimes we lie out of fear…but as Christians, we have not been given that spirit (2 Tim 1:7). You get the picture.

If you are a parent, you know what it’s like to try to get your children to see the folly in lying. “It’s only going to get worse if you are lying! If you tell me the truth, it will go better for you.” Do they listen? Sometimes. But, more often than not, they choose to stay in their sin. God hates it when they do it…and God hates it when we do it, too. Pastor Tim Challies says, “When we speak deceptively, we speak satanically. False words reveal a heart in rebellion against God. Defiled words come from a defiled heart.” For the Christian, this should not be so.