Last week, we considered what lying is. We noted several verses from which we learned that lying is sinful (cf. Prov. 6:16-19; Eph. 4:25; Rev. 21:8, NKJV). While these verses are referenced, we did not discuss why it is that lying is a problem. We will not be able to exhaust the subject, but we can at least take some time to consider the problem with lying by looking at who lying connects us to and separates us from.
When we lie, we are connected directly to Satan – and this is a problem. When Adam and Eve are living in the Garden of Eden, we first see why lying is a problem. Satan tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge and good and evil by lying to her, telling her that she “will not surely die” (even though God had said that “in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die”) (Gen. 3:4; 2:17). Sure enough, in eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God is proven to be true and Satan is proven to be a liar (Gen. 3:14ff). Speaking of Satan, Jesus says he “does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, NASB). If Satan “is a liar and the father of lies” (and he is), then when we lie, we are acting as a child of the devil. Lying is a problem because it connects us directly to Satan himself.
When we lie, we not only align ourselves with Satan, but we separate ourselves from God – and this is a problem. Isaiah 59:1-2 reveals that when we sin, we separate ourselves from God. Our lies do not bring us nearer to God but drive us away from Him. Moreover, to lie is to be in opposition to God. While Satan is “a liar” and has “no truth in him” (John 8:44), God and His word are truth (John 17:17). If God and His word are truth (which they are), then lying must be His antithesis. When we lie, we are in direct opposition to God (something that should never be said of one who is His child). If we want to be known as children of God, we must act as such which means we will speak truth in everything.
More could be said concerning the problem of lying (such as how it is often selfish or malicious). However, recognizing who lying connects us to and separates us from ought to suffice. The next time we are tempted to lie, let’s remember who our Father is and act as His children – not as children of the devil.
By: Preston McElyea