Today, I’m going to make you feel uncomfortable. Because we’re going to talk about lying.
Now I know—all of us have lied.
The talk is uncomfortable for you because I’m sure you’ve lied a few times in your life. About your age. About your waist. About your love life.
Forgive me, but if my article will sound theoretical, that’s because as far as I know, I’ve never lied in my life. Not when I was a kid. Not when I was teenager. And not when I became an adult.
I have never lied… except right now.
Just kidding.
All of us have lied. Probably me more than others. Lying is as old as the sun. Around 4,000+ years ago, Aaron, the spokesperson of Moses, lied…
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us…”
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters were wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool…
Please note that the Bible said that Aaron made the idol “fashioning it with a tool”. Let’s continue to read…
When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing… He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such a great sin?”
“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “…They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us…’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32:1-4, 19,21-24 NIV)
Aaron said he just threw a bunch of gold jewelry in the fire and voila!… like magic, the calf idol just appeared. Gee whiz. Beats David Copperfield.
Here’s the lesson: It’s easy to tell the truth when we’re not under any pressure. But at this point, Aaron was on the hot seat. His brother Moses was grilling him.
When we’re under a lot of heat, that’s when we’re tempted to bend the truth.
Remember when I said that there are only two basic emotions, love and fear? Lying comes from fear. Always. We lie because we’re afraid. We’re afraid of other people’s judgment, or other people’s rejection, or other people’s criticism—so we embellish the truth. We pretend who we are not.
When You Lose Truth, You Lose Freedom
Lying isn’t harmless.
Lying is so serious, it’s the Devil’s Job Title. Jesus describes the Devil as “a liar and the father of lies”. (John 8:44 NIV)
Chronic lying is a thief that will steal away your freedom. Without truth in your life, you become a slave to your fears. That’s why Jesus said, the truth will set you free. (John 8:31 NIV)
That’s why the Bible lumps it with other serious sins: But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars—the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur… (Revelations 21:8 GNT)
Today, I want to help you. May I carefront you? (That’s not in Webster. But it should be. We need to learn the delicate art of confronting people with care.) Ask yourself these hard questions: When do you lie? How do you lie? Are you pretending to be someone you are not? Why are you lying? What are you afraid of?
Today, I pray that God fill our heart with so much of His love, we no longer have to resort to lying and be comfortable with truth…
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
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