Have you ever wondered when it is okay to lie and when it is not okay to lie? Has the thought ever crossed your mind that lying in a certain situation may be better than telling the truth?
I just read an article about lying. It was written by John Piper in "Relevant" magazine. The article was written in Sept./Oct. 2007.
Piper tackled some important truths about lying.
He pointed out that there are two places in scripture where lying was accepted. First, in Exodus, Pharaoh sets out to kill the newborn Hebrew boys. To save them the midwives tell Pharaoh that the Hebrew women are vigorous and they give birth before the midwives have a chance to arrive at the scene to dispose of the child. This is a lie, yet God was kind to the midwives. Secondly, in Joshua 2, Rahab hides two of Israel's spies and her actions were seen as faith (Hebrews 11:31).
But scripture is clearly against lying; Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 12:22, and Revelation 21:8. So we have to be careful how we view our speech. There are very few times in life that it is acceptable to lie. And most of us have probably never been in a situation where lying would be acceptable in our Father's eyes. Lying about hiding slaves on the Underground Railroad is certainly more worthy than lying about how fast you were driving!
So why do we lie?
We usually lie because we think it will somehow help our situation. Let me also point out that exaggerating is lying too! For some reason we think we are better off if we tell people the fish we caught were just a little bigger than it really was.
What type of heart does that come from?
It comes from a heart that is not trusting God. Piper closes his article with these words.
"Telling the truth is evidence that we know God and have faith in Him, because faith in the goodness and sovereignty of God conquers the deceitful craving for esteem and safety and possessions that causes us to distort the truth in order to gain a worldly advantage. With faith in a God like ours, there is no need to be deceitful. He knows what is best for us, and He will always give it."
What do you think? Is your view of God big enough that you don't have to lie?
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8
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