Liar, Liar

It is a conversation that I dread:

                “Do not lie to me.”

                “I’m not lying, Mom!”

                “But I think you are lying.”

                “No, Mom, I’m not!  I promise I’m not!”

                Last spring our Ladies’ Bible discussion group tackled the topic of lying.  I went looking for advice from other moms regarding how they discipline their children when they suspect them of lying.  What does one do when she suspects that her child is lying, but the son or daughter insists that he or she is not?  We discussed that briefly that morning, but most of our time was spent discussing lying in a broader sense.  I left Bible study convicted of the lies that I tell myself, lies that I believe.

                Our pastor pointed out that at the root of every sin is pride.  That pride comes to expression in the form of a lie.  At the very heart, that lie is the lie that Satan believed of himself: “I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:14b).  It is the lie with which He tempted Eve, and through Eve, Adam: “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5b).  It is the lie the Old Testament Israelites believed when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).  It is the lie that we believe every time we sin.  For every time we break one of the Ten Commandments, we demonstrate that we have a god whom we worship before the one, true God.  The name of our god?  Self.  At the root of every sin is our belief that we have the right to be God and determine for ourselves what we may or may not do, what is good and what is evil.

                When we dishonor those who are in authority over us – government officials, office bearers in the church, parents, teachers, husbands – we believe this lie:  They don’t deserve my respect.  After all, I could fill their position more ably than they do.  We deny that he who resists the powers that be resists the ordinance of God (Rom. 13:2).

When we steal – possessions from our neighbor, time from our employer, wages from our employees – we believe this lie:  Those possessions, time, and wages are rightfully mine!  I have more need of this thing or that money than they do!  We deny that we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and answer for everything that we have done (2 Cor. 5:10).

When we gossip or slander, we believe this lie:  My chit-chat is harmless.  We deny the truth that the tongue is a little flame that is capable of igniting a great fire (James 3:2-13).  We deny that we will give account for every idle word that we have spoken (Matt. 12:36). 

 When we covet – another’s house, another’s spouse, another’s looks, or another’s life – we believe this lie:  As long as I’m not doing anything outward, it’s not sin.  I can’t be condemned for my thoughts.  We deny that while men look on the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).  We reject the truth that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  We deny God the right to providentially direct every detail of our lives.

                When we allow ourselves to wallow in self-pity or discontent, we believe the lie that we have not been given self-control and its accompanying fruits: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, and meekness (Gal. 5:22).

                Our pastor consented that it is difficult to discipline our children when we suspect them of lying, but he encouraged us to discipline them for lying as if it is most the serious sin they could ever commit.  Why?  Because at the root of every sin, there is a lie.  The Lord hates the lying tongue (Prov. 6:16-19), and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8).  We must guard our own hearts and the hearts of our children from the lie by nurturing them with the truth.  Read the Bible daily, and be constant in prayer.  Ask the Lord to set a watch before the door of your mouth and the door of your heart (Psalm 141:3).  For there is no hope for the one who believes the lies that he tells himself. 

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1 John 1:5 – 2:5