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“Speaking the Truth”
Categories: Christian life, truthJust as Satan is the father of lies and liars, so God is the Father of truth-tellers and truth-seekers.
No place for a deceiver exists among the people of God. It is said of Jesus, "No deception was found in His mouth," and that's exactly what the Father wants from His children.
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to Him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feed that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers. (Proverbs 6.16-19)
Part of growing up in Christ is learning to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4.15).
It's one thing to speak truth with a neighbor and another to temper that truth with love. I'd love to tell everyone what their glaring faults are and how to fix them--isn't that truthful? Perhaps. But it probably misses the mark of love by a wide margin. When I'm so focused on others' faults and foibles, I tend to also miss my own, pride creeps in, and I end up looking down upon my brothers and sisters. So love must temper truth.
However, we must always speak the truth with one another.
Have you ever seen an adult lie to a child? This kills me. A father didn't want his child to know he kept guns in the case, so he told the child the case held his fishing rods. What happens when the child finds out what's really in the case? Perhaps he doesn't explicitly connect the dots ("Dad's a liar!"), but at least subconsciously he learns it is okay to lie to cover things up.
What's worse is when a parent outright lies to another adult in front of the child--"No, my husband's not home right now; you'll have to call back later," while said husband sits in the living room watching TV. The child learns lying is okay in order to avoid inconvenience.
Lying kills trust. If you lie to me even about a small matter, it then makes me wonder about anything you say in the future. If you're okay twisting, tweaking, or otherwise adjusting the truth, I lose confidence in your word overall.
Is there a path to redemption after you lie? Can trust be rebuilt? Yes, it can. But trust is earned over a long period of time, and once trust is betrayed, rebuilding it requires another long road of consistent truthfulness.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another (Ephesians 4.25).
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight (Proverbs 12.22)
