The Tangled Web
By Jay Taylor
It is easy. It is common. “Sin has many tools,” Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “but a lie is the handle that fits them all” (Autocrat of the Breakfast Table). God’s Word informs us that lying is designed to mislead and deceive whether by words or actions. Since lying is condemned by God, it is necessary to understand what the Bible teaches about this wicked act.
Satan - The Father Of Liars
Jesus said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof” (John 8:44).
Satan is the first liar. God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The penalty for eating the fruit was death (Genesis 2:17). Satan, however, lied when he told Eve, nYe shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Satan is the father of liars. Since Satan was the first liar, all who follow him in that activity become his children. Satan is the friend of liars. He takes pleasure when people follow his wicked ways.
The Dangers Of Lying
One of the dangers of lying is that it becomes a continual habit with some. Once a person deceives another it becomes easier to continue that activity. David spoke of those who “meditate deceits all the day long” (Psalm 38:12). These people practice deceit on a continual basis so that their thoughts are consumed with how they can deceive others.
A second danger of lying is that a person ceases to do good when he is involved in lying and falsehood. Again, David wrote, “The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: He hath ceased to be wise and to do good” (Psalm 36:3). As one travels down the road of falsehood. he ceases to do that which is good and right in the sight of God.
God’s Attitude Toward Lying
Lying is easy because our deceitful ways are usually hidden from others. However, God knows all. During the days of Isaiah, the rulers of Jerusalem had established lying as a way of life. They had made lies their refuge (Isa. 28:15, 17). God knew about their false ways and they would be punished for their deceit. He is against all liars (Ezekiel 13:8).
The Christian’s Attitude Toward Lying
We should have the same attitude toward lying that God does. God will not tolerate falsehood and neither should we. We should have the attitude of the wise man who said, “Remove far from me falsehood and lies” (Proverbs 30:8). The apostle Paul instructs us to “put away falsehood” and “speak ye truth each one with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). Lies, deceitfulness, and falsehood have no place in the life of the Christian.
The Punishment Of Liars
We might be able to get by with deceiveing others for awhile. However, liars will not be able to escape judgment from God. The wise man said, “A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape” (Proverbs 19:5). The Psalmist said, “For the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped” (Psalm 63:11). The book of Revelation closes with a warning to all liars: “But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Revelation 221:8).
The tangled web of lies offers nothing to me. Nothing good comes from a life of deceit and falsehood. Lying is a characteristic of the worldly minded individual, not the child of God. As Christians, we must live honestly and truthfully before God and man. Committed to this cause, we will be pleasing in the sight of Almighty God.