| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net It's no big deal is it? Lying I mean? Some things to ponder. In Proverbs 6:16-19 are recorded some verses we like to avoid, that start like this - "These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him:" These things make Him spew if you will. What are they? How does society look at them today, and what should be our reaction? Well, at the top of the list is Pride, but I would like to talk about # 2 which is lying. I've noticed of late, lying is not only expected, but many think it admirable. Our culture reflects this in some TV ads about things like Captain Morgan and other beverages where men are regarded on the basis of being able to lie to women. We have songs like "Tell ole I aint here he better get on home". Lots of TV shows and Movies centered around lying. What universe do these folks live in? When I was a kid (I know, I sound like my dad), all the shows (Lassie etc) devoted episodes to the consequences of lying, and encouraging the truth at all costs. What has changed? Let's turn the Spiritual Switch and look at lying through God's eyes. The word Lying is used thirty times in the Bible - 28 in the Old Testament, and two times in the New. In our text, it means - untruth, sham without cause, deceitful, falsehood, feignedly, liar, lie, lying, vain and wrongfully. Nugget: A man is never more like the devil than when he lies, because Satan is the father of lies. The truth is actually sacred. Absent truth, all is void. If you tell me the truth all the time, I can believe you all of the time. If you tell me the truth some of the time, I can't believe you ever. It is also like substance abuse or smoking. The more you do it, the easier it gets to do. It takes more effort to lie than to tell the truth because a lie must almost always be followed by more lying. There are some startling statistics in the book "The Day America Told the Truth". 91% said they routinely lied about what they thought trivial. 36% lie about important things. 86% lie routinely to parents, 75% lie to friends, 73% lie to siblings and 69% lie to spouses. Here's the problem. As the World (Satan's) deteriorates w/regard to what is sin, (abortion on demand, what God says is marriage, and yes even just lying), our kids become anesthetized and think it's the norm. Is it important? "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight." Prov. 12:22 "Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil:" Prov. 12:20 Lying hurts our relationships with each other, and destroys our relationship with God - Romans 1:18 speaks of folks intentionally denying the Bible as "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness." "A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that speaketh lies shall not escape." Prov. 19:5 Is this possible in today's day and age? Can one tell the truth all the time? I can't. At least not in and of myself. This requires a supernatural power; and enabling grace that I can't work up on my own. To find truth, I must go to the source. Jesus is literally Truth - John 14:6, and absent Him, I cannot hope to be truthful. God gave me eyes to see His Light; feet to follow His ways, and a tongue to Proclaim Truth. You can't share what you don't have. "The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Prov. 12:19. Does God care? You bet. |
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