Lying Lips

THE LORD DETESTS LYING LIPS BUT HE DELIGHTS IN MEN WHO DEAL TRUTHFULLY. Proverbs 12.22.

Today we don’t hear people telling one another, “You lied!” We have become very sophisticated and we have learnt to tell ‘white lies’ and get away with it. Yet, you and I need to be careful about telling white lies. Sometimes, people believe us and get the wrong impression. It may hurt the feelings of others or cause embarrassment! It may also create a problem with the children who listen to our white lies. They ‘believe us!’ Worse still, they imitate us.

It is a sad thing and wrong too when we tell lies to cheat people for our own gain. It has become a common practice today. It is a pity that even you and I, Christians, succumb to it in one way or another. Let me tell you something that occurred in our house. We had some problem with our sewer system. It sprang a leak. We called the authorities to attend to it. The men came and looked around. They told me that the tank was leaking and I had to repair it. They said they could do it for me as a private job for a hefty sum! They were in a mighty hurry to get it done. I, being a handyman myself, could easily tell that the leak was not from the tank but the pipe leading to it! I called a contractor who confirmed my guess. What the former fellows did was to tell me ‘a lie’ in order to try and make a quick buck!

Think for a moment before you brand those fellows as rogues and liars. We are all engaged in some kind of business or work. We too are tempted and even prone to do many kinds of deceitful things. I once heard a friend telling a story about a surgeon! The patient had an abdominal surgery. The doctor charged him for that surgery and also for removing his appendix! Some years later he had symptoms of appendicitis and was operated by another surgeon who removed the appendix ‘that was supposed to have been removed!’ I cannot vouch for the truth of the story but the moral is obvious.

Dear Christian, whatever business you are in, beware! The possibilities of telling lies and cheating others for your gain are plenty. Take a few moments to think carefully of your ways and dealings with people. Are you honest in all that you say and do? Making a profit – small or large - is not wrong or a crime. But the Bible teaches us that God is against lying and cheating!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, Your Word teaches me, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who deal truthfully”. Help me to be truthful in all my dealings. Amen.