Lying and Telling the Truth
He leads me …
Telling the truth is a basic requirement for trust. If we find out that someone has lied to us, it takes away any trust that we have in them, and then we wonder whether there have been other times that we have been lied to that we do not know about. Even if the lie was about something small, we do not know whether any other lies might have occurred, or will occur in the future that might be about something serious.
Being truthful is an essential part of what makes us a Christian, and for this reason we frequently come across the outcomes of both telling the truth and telling lies as we read through the Bible. And it is important enough to be included in the Ten Commandments. It reads, ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour’, or as the Amplified Bible says, ‘You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbour (any person).
The Bible describes the power of our tongue to be either positive and uplifting or negative and demoralising if it is not controlled. ‘The tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body.’ (James 3:6 TLB). We see from this how damaging thoughtless words can be to those that we speak to. Our speech should serve as an expression of our relationship with God. Therefore it is important that we speak with love and integrity.
Here some of the things that the Bible has to say about what is appropriate speech:
1. Offer praise to the Lord. ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.’ (Ps. 19:14 TLB). Then there is, ‘Sometimes [our tongue] praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! (James 3: 9-10 NLT)
Our praise to God is usually easier to do in church than it is at other times, but as we progressively become more Christ-like our praise to the Lord, as well as for what He does, should become easier.
2. Edify and encourage others. ‘Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.’ (Ephesians 4:29 TLB)
3. Be honest. Tell the truth. ‘The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.’ (Proverbs 12:22 NLT). Then there is, ‘Just say a simple, “Yes, I will,” or “No, I won’t.” Anything beyond this is from the evil one.’(Matthew 5:37 NLT). And, ‘Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies’ (Ps. 34:13 TLB).
Even if circumstances make it hard for us to tell the truth, it always pays, because then others know that they can trust what we say.
4. “Speak the truth in love.” ”Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” (Ephesians 4:15 NLT)
Sadly, some of us have been spoken to by someone who wants to share their concerns ‘in love’, and then follow it by saying something that distresses or offends us. Perhaps by saying that what they are about to say is ‘in love’ they can feel that they have softened the message, or that they feel justified in bringing the message ‘in love’. The result is that whenever we hear that phrase in the future, we are on our guard for what follows.
This is contrary to what the phrase is supposed to mean. The ‘love’ referred to in this verse is agape love. This is a big-hearted love that works for the benefit of the other person. So, when we speak truth, we do so in a way that builds the other person up. We may speak against what was done, but never the person. Our words should be constructive for those listening. We should speak the truth in love.
5. Be full of grace. ‘Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.’ Colossians 4:6 MSG)
6. Speak the Word, so people hear it. ‘I speak continually of your laws as I recite out loud your counsel to me.’(Psalm 119:13 TPT [The Passion Translation]). ‘Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. (Hebrews 13:7 NLT).
7. Do not speak deceitfully. ‘If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.’ (Proverbs 8:13 TLB)
8. Do not gossip. ‘A man who lacks judgment derides his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret’ (Proverbs 11:12-13.NIV)
Being a gossip is a bit like being a liar. Passing on what has been told to us confidentially means that we cannot be trusted with any other private information or secrets, and people will be very cautious about what they do tell us.
9. Listen first. ‘Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us]’ (James 1:19-20 AMP)
10. Speak from the heart. ‘Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:7 NLT). ‘A good man produces good deeds from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.’ (Luke 6:45 TLB)[1]
Many of us will look at a list like this and go, ‘Really? Am I expected to do all this?’ The answer is, ‘Yes, but not straight away.’ It is all part of our development process called sanctification. From the moment that we give ourselves over to Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour, the Lord progressively works away quietly and gently in our lives helping us to make improvements to our quality of life. However, it is over to us how much we want Him to change us for the better.
The outworking of what He is doing inside us is what we show to others. Do we encourage where we can? Are we as positive as we need to be? Are we doing the best that we can in our jobs? Others respond well to these approaches in our lives, and this makes our lives fulfilling as a result.
Maybe today is the day that we establish how much we really want the Lord to use us?
[1] Purity in Speech, Holli Howard, Our Single Purpose; https://oursinglepurpose.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/purity-in-speech/
