I was in either the 4^th or 5^th grade. I attended a Christian school, so the question did not come as much of a surprise. My teacher asked, “Is there anyone in here who has never told a lie?” For a group of 4^th and 5^th graders, this question was almost humorous. For me, it was not humorous. I had a terrible fear of lying, because my mother had convinced me that she would always find out the truth. If I lied, my punishment would be greater.

So, I pose a series of questions to you. Do you lie? What kind of lies do you tell? Do you just tell “little white lies” or black lies? Do you just “stretch the truth” or just not tell the whole story? Why do you lie? Do you have a bad habit of lying, lie only when you feel you have to, or lie to just certain people? Maybe you lie because you feel you can’t help yourself. Then comes the big question. Is it ever acceptable to God to tell a lie?

We have many examples in scripture of all of the above. Just as we sometimes feel justified in telling a lie, men and women throughout the history of the world have justified their misrepresentation of the truth. Maybe we can learn some lessons from some of God’s people that will help us.

Lying, defined by Webster, is “to make an untrue statement with the intent to deceive.” Thayer defines it as “conscious and intentional falsehood.” The idea is that, when we lie, we have purposed in our hearts to deceive someone. We do not want certain individuals to know the reality of a situation.

Take Abraham for example. On two separate occasions, Abraham told both the king of Egypt and the king of Gerar that Sarai (Sarah) was his sister (Genesis 12 and Genesis 20). She was his half-sister, but she was his wife. Because of his lie, Pharaoh suffered great plagues and God threaten to take Abimelech’s life.

Abraham’s son, Isaac, did the same thing. When he settled in the land of Gerar, he lied and told the men of the city that Rebekah was his sister. The king saw the behavior between Isaac and Rebekah and determined that she was certainly not his sister. His lie was exposed.

King Saul lied to a prophet of God. After being given instructions about completely destroying the Amalekites, he returned from battle with sheep and oxen and the king, Agag. He also allowed the people to take the possessions of the Amalekites. When Samuel, the prophet, confronted him, he lied. He told Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me” (First Samuel 15:20 ESV). When Samuel reminded him of God’s instructions, Saul then had to admit that he had not “utterly destroyed the Amalekites” as God had commanded.

We remember the story of Peter’s lies. When he sat watching Jesus before Pilate, he was approached by a servant girl and others. Three times, he denied knowing Jesus and being one of his followers. He even swore an oath that he did not even know Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75).

There were new Christians, Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5. They allowed Peter and other Christians to believe they had received a certain amount of money from land they had sold. They held back a portion for themselves and allowed the Christians to believe they had given all the money. Their punishment for their lie was death.

Abraham and Isaac lied because they feared men. King Saul lied because he wanted the glory that came from parading an enemy king before the people. Peter lied because he was afraid to tell the crowd that he was a follower of Jesus. Ananias and Sapphira lied because of greed.

Truth is defined as “that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.” Truth must be important to God. I think one reason is that lying didn’t originate with God. Truth did. Lying originated with the devil. “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Jesus was speaking to the Jews who boasted of being children of Abraham. He was showing them that they were really children of the devil, the originator of deceit and lies.

God’s Word helps us see the importance of telling the truth. God hates lying. “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, feet 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). Do you see that lying is behind most of these seven things that God hates?

Where will liars stand in judgment? “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). I think that says it all.

Proverbs 14 is filled with many one-sentence truths that can help us build on the Christian life. There are two verses that deserve our attention as we conclude this study on lying. The first is found in verse 5. “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.” Verse 25 is the second. “A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.” These verses indicate that the false witness, the liar, have lying in their very nature. Lying comes to them as naturally

So, is it ever acceptable to lie? You be the judge.

Sandra Oliver