Week 3, Day 2

Have you ever told a “little white lie”? Well, actually there is no such thing as a “little white lie” because all lying is sin and all sin is a big deal to the heart of God because of its destructive nature toward mankind. Lying to each other disrupts unity by creating conflict and destroying trust, which ultimately tears down relationships. So, it is easy for us to see why the Lord says in Proverbs 6:16-19 that there are seven things that He hates, and two out of the seven things relate to lying.

So first, how do we define a lie? In simple terms, anything that is not the full truth is a lie. But lying includes far more than telling direct falsehoods.

For example,
• When we exaggerate by adding falsehood to that which starts as truth, it is a lie.
• When we embellish stories to make ourselves look better, or to make others look worse, that is a lie.
• When we betray a confidence, it is a lie.
• When we make promises we don’t plan to keep, it is a lie.
• When we withhold information in order to mislead or deceive, it is a lie.

Today, our devotion focuses on the sin of lying. Lying is a temptation that all of us have to deal with in our lives. In Genesis 38, we see the lives of Judah and Tamar displayed with all the lies and deception involved surrounding their life. Judah lied to Tamar by promising her that she could marry his third son which would enable her to give birth to an heir since her previous husbands had died. But when Tamar realized that Judah was not going to fulfill his promise, she decided to take matters into her own hands. So she contrived a plan to deceive Judah by luring him into a deceptive, immoral physical union with her as she pretended to be a prostitute. But as messy and sinful as the circumstances were, God gave Tamar twins, and the line of Judah continued because of her.
But in contrast to the ways of Judah and Tamar which were full of lies and deceit and carnal in nature, the blood of Christ has provided for us a better way, as children of God.

In Colossians 3:9-10, Paul says, “Don’t lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its evil practices. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ who created this new nature within you.”

Paul calls all believers to put off the old sinful life full of lies and deceit which is driven by the devil, the father of all lies. Instead, Paul encourages us to put on the new life directed by the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Truth. We were once slaves to our old sinful nature, but now we can choose to live for Christ and His ways, as we are empowered by God’s grace from within.

Let’s choose to live the better way as we determine to be a people of truth walking after the ways of God.

• Have you ever exaggerated by adding falsehoods or embellished stories to make you look better?

• Are there any other areas in your life where you know you’ve been untruthful or dishonest about what you’ve done?

• What do you think God is telling you to do about the falsehoods and dishonest issues you have allowed in your life?