The Word of God is clear that lying is a sin and is displeasing to God. The first sin in this world involved a lie told to Eve. The Ten Commandments given to Moses includes: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira lied regarding a donation in order to make themselves look more generous than they really were. Peter’s rebuke is stern: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” (Acts 5:3). God’s judgment was sterner: the couple died as a result of their sin of lying (Acts 5:1–11).

Colossians 3:9 says, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” Lying is listed in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 as something practiced by the lawless. Furthermore, liars will be among those judged in the end (Revelation 21:8). In contrast, God never lies (Titus 1:2). He is the source of truth. “It is impossible for God to lie” (Numbers 23:19).

So, we need to realize that lying is wrong, in any shape or form. It is a transgression of the law of God. We must not allow ourselves to measure sin by how much damage it does or does not do on this earth. Any sin can cause a man or woman to be lost and, in light of that, none of them are little. Also, if a person tells a lie, it grows and leads to another. Someone once said, “If you never tell a lie, you never have to remember what you said.” As we think about man and lying, it is imperative that we realize lying is very costly. Lying really hurts people.

There is an old story about a little boy who had a problem with telling lies, so his father wanted to teach him a lesson. The father got a brand-new piece of wood and he drove ten nails into the wood. He then called his son and said to him, “Son, you have recently told ten lies. I want you to go back and fix them. For each one you correct, we will remove a nail from the wood.” So the little boy set about to “fix” his lies. When he had finished and the tenth nail was pulled from the wood, the boy’s father said, “Well, how does it look?” The boy responded, “The nails are gone, but the scars are still in the wood.” His father said, “Now you have learned the lesson.” Lying does damage that is sometimes impossible to correct. It has hurt feelings and scarred reputations.
Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and He expects those who follow Him to be people of truth. The truth is to be expressed in love (Ephesians 4:15), offering hope to those seeking redemption from the lies of the world.
Erick Bouwmeester
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