Is it alright to tell lies--even 'white' ones?

BY SIS. MADELINE, 20 April 2008 YP Live!

Lies, what exactly are they? A quick search into the dictionary reveals that lies are words or statements made by persons known to be UNTRUE.

Since lies are words or statements made by persons to be untrue, then why do we often find ourselves having to lie? That really got me thinking that maybe lies (known to be untrue) do serve certain purposes that the truth can't. I started questioning myself what purposes do lies serve and managed to come up with a few. They are:-

• we lie so as to conceal what the truth will reveal
  
• we lie to get certain persons into trouble
  
• we lie to save ourselves from trouble
  
• we lie to make ourselves look good / others to look bad
  
• we lie out of lack of courage to boldly take a stand
  
• we lie to conform to the majority (the stress is too great to be alone)
  
• we lie out of hatred
  
• we lie because we can't forgive
  
• we lie out of boredom
  
• we lie for some excitement and thrills in our lives
  

…and the list goes on and on.

In short, we often deploy lies to achieve a certain purpose or to get something by lying. Very sadly even before we begin to suspect, we have already allow the seed of the lying spirit to be planted in our hearts. In time, it will grow and flourish…

BUT WHERE DO LIES COME FROM? Listen to what God says about lies written in the Bible. The source of lies is none other than Satan himself. John 8:44 says "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth, for there is no truth in Him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

Are you taken aback by all these strong words God uses to describe the "father of lies"? God calls Satan a murderer, a liar and the lies he speaks is his native language. The native language here in John 8:44 is like the dialects we speak at home. These dialects signify the roots of our heritage, our culture. But God says that Satan's roots are nothing but only lies. When you read in between the lines of this verse, are you able to feel God's detest directed at the liar and how repulsive God feels about him?

As children of God, when we consider the source where all lies come from, there is no way we can sit by and allow the seed of lie to take root in our hearts. May it never be!

John 8:44 not only helps us feel how God feels about lies it also gives us a clue on how we can please our heavenly Father. It is very clear from the verse that only when we strive to live our lives in truthfulness can we then please God.

Do you know that God has many other names mentioned in the bible? All these names help us who are so small understand Him who is so great. For the purpose today, one name stands out above the rest and that is mentioned in John 16:13 – Spirit of Truth. Now, don't we think that makes a lot of sense? God is holy. In God there is only truth – nothing else. When you consider Proverbs 12:22, "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful", we begin to understand why.

Let us pause for a little moment to take stock…

1. We have now established what lies are.
   
2. We have also managed to trace the source where all lies begin and that source is Satan.
   
3. We are now beginning to feel how God feels about His children lying.
   

But do you know that lying has its consequences?
In Proverbs 19:5 says, "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free." As children of God, we have to abide by God's ways and commands. We have to know without doubt that Satan is a liar and all the evil that he does begins with a lie. People who lie must believe that lying will make things better for them, or help them achieve what they want. But sadly, it does just the opposite. Telling a lie means that we choose to align ourselves with the devil and distance ourselves from God because our God is holy, in Him there only the truth. The more lies you tell, the more you open your hearts for the devil's lying spirit to be rooted and the further you will be away from God, for our God is holy and in Him there is only the truth. So where do you stand with God?

When we consider Proverbs 21:6, "A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare", we realized that the price we have to pay when we distance ourselves from God is simply too high. In other words, we may think that we can get what we want by lying and it provides quick fixes and solutions to our problems. But do not be deceived for the bible equate our gains and quick solutions to "fleeting vapor" that last only a moment and then no more and all we get in the end is but a "deadly snare". This leads me to think that the discipline and canings I received for lying when I was a child were definitely by far more pleasant and are nothing to be compared to the consequences of lying, such as a "deadly snare" from God's wrath!

If that is the case, then what about white lies?

Firstly, we need to ask ourselves, "What exactly is our motive for telling 'white lies'?" Is it helping to 'protect' another person (e.g. not telling someone that his father had contracted cancer)? Is it to prevent embarrassing the person (ever had someone asking you, "Don't I look pretty/handsome today?")?

The truth is, our hearts and motives are so often misguided and wrong. They are often actually self-centered (e.g. we want to protect ourselves from embarrassment, or to shield ourselves from an emotionally intense situation)

Proverb 14:12 tells us that, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." What seems right to us (i.e. white lies) may not be right in the eyes of God!

The biblical principle here is truthfulness—God wants us to be truthful because we want to conform to His image as a truthful God.

So, what is the solution to our dilemma, when we are tempted to tell a white lie? It is "to speak the truth in love" (Eph 4:15), and not to insulate ourselves from the consequences of telling the truth.

I wonder if you have ever felt the way I do sometimes about lying. Knowing that lying will not pleased God we did it anyway in our many moments of weakness. As such, we know we that we have sinned. This so called 'could not help ourselves' feeling is best describe by the psalmist 28:4 "My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear." Nothing is heavier than sin. Sin weighs down on our bones to the point where we can't breath. Sin robs the peace in our hearts that only God can put it there. Sin robs us of the blessings God intends to give. We don't realize how destructive this crushing weight is until we smash into the wall that we have built between us and God because of it.

Let there never be a wall between God and us! To be separated from God is too high a price for us to pay! Let us not be blinded nor be deceived by the devil's lies. Let us experience this great relief when the crushing weight of sin is lifted from us through true confession and forgiveness by God.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not here today to rebuke you for I stand being rebuked myself. The bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I am not here to judge you for I have no authority nor the right to do so. I am not here to say that you deserve more wraths from God because you have told more lies than the person beside you did. No, I am not here today to do all that. But I am here sincerely today to identify with you and this struggle that we all face and hope to overcome. On our right is God and the truth lies in Him. On our left is falsehood, the dwelling place of the devil. Any step we take will only bring us closer or further from God. Let us remind ourselves and help one another to stay focused and never stray from what God has promised to those who love him. For it is written "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." None of us has any idea how great the future God has prepared for you and me but we do know that God says that our future will be so great that if we truly understood it, we would feel "that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed" to us.

The devil and his lying spirit cannot take root in our hearts as long as we are walking with God, standing strong in His word and praying without ceasing. God's plan for our lives won't happen without a struggle and certainly it won't come to being with our lying lips. Let us all strive for truthfulness because only when we live our lives in truth can we please our heavenly Father.

If you think that what I have just said sound so much easier said than done, I assure you it is not. But allow me to encourage you to never forget that "the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry and save them. When you made up your mind to depart from lies, be warn that the struggle will be great because the devil will constantly remind you of the past when you were able to use lies to get your ways quickly. DON'T GIVE UP WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH. Abide in Jesus Christ and the Spirit of the Lord will take you from strength to strength.

Let me share a true story with you.

Hien Pham was a Vietnamese translator for Ravi Zacharias when he ministered in South Vietnam during 1971.

After South Vietnam fell to the communist Vietcong, Hien Pham was captured and forced to go through severe indoctrination against the Christian faith in the prison. Just when he was about to give up his faith, he found a Bible passage (Romans 8) on a toilet paper when he was clearing the bin! This providential event led him to reaffirm his faith in God.

Then the day came when, through an equally providential set of circumstances, Hien was released from prison. He promptly began to make plans to leave the country and to construct a boat for the escape of him and 53 others. All was going according to plan until days before their departure. Four Vietcong knocked on Hien's door and said they had heard of his escape.

Hien Pham was in a dilemma. 53 lives were in his hands. If he confessed that he was planning to escape, these Vietcong will surely arrest them and put them into prison. It makes perfect sense for him to tell a white lie at this moment. So he denied it and they left.

Hien felt relieved, but at the same time disappointed with himself. He thought to himself, "Here I go again, Lord, trying to manipulate my own destiny, too unteachable in my spirit to really believe that You can lead me past any obstacle." He then made a promise to God—fervently hoping that God would not take him up on it—that if the Vietcong returned, he would tell them the truth. He was thoroughly shaken when only a few hours before they were to set sail, the four men returned. When questioned again, Hien Pham decided to keep his promise to God--he confessed the truth, that they were planning to escape from Vietnam.

To Hien's astonishment, the men leaned forward and, in hushed tones, asked if they could go with him!

In an utterly incredible escape plan, all 58 of them found themselves on the high seas, suddenly engulfed by a violent storm. Hien cried out to God, "Did you bring us here to die?" But then he said to me, "Brother Ravi, if it were not for the sailing ability of those four Vietcong, we would not have made it." They arrived safely in Thailand, and years later Hien arrived on American soil where today he is a businessman.

You could read Hien Pham's story here, in RZIM's homepage. Imagine if Hien Pham persists in his 'white lie', believing that this will protect the 53 others who were escaping with him. The consequence of that lie would have been disastrous on the seas.

When we take specific steps to try to live our lives free from lies and deliberately run away from anything that might tempt us to lie, we will find ourselves being drawn closer to God. When we live right, God will keep us from sin. God says "Be holy, for I am holy". It is only by the grace of God that we can live in holiness, even after we have chosen to do so. When our hearts wants to live in purity and to the right thing, God will keep us from falling into sin. Let us go to God for help.