Telling Lies (White, Grey, or Even Black)
by Christine Manuel

 

​A little lie never hurt anyone.  And that my friend, is a lie

​

if we say that a few white lies are okay, we start to dull our conscience...

O, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive.
            Sir Walter Scott

​The sweetest smiles hold the deepest secrets.
From Pretty Little Liars


Everyone tells lies – at least that is what we are led to believe.  It is expected behaviour in our world and it can get you out of a lot of inconvenient trouble.  A little lie never hurt anyone.  And that my friend, is a lie.  And you know one of the most famous lies of all time?  Let’s step back into a time machine, back to the garden of Eden , where we meet our main characters, Adam and Eve, and of course, the serpent.  

The Set Up:
Now the serpent says to Eve, “Did God say, “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”  (My notes:  Now here is where we get some traction.  The serpent very well knew exactly what God had commanded, but this is the lead up to the big lie, and a very clever opening line.)  Then he further proceeds to tell her, “You will not die if you eat of the fruit.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Genesis   (My notes:  Now this, my friends, is where things really get serious – a real slam dunk for the serpent.  Not only is he encouraging Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, which is serious disobedience, but he is insinuating that God is the liar – we can’t trust Him, He is not telling us the truth.  Now, when you think about it, that is pretty audacious.  The serpent, who only wishes for our harm and downfall, is saying that God is the liar – God , who loves us, gave us live, loves us enough to give us free will to pick good or evil, and who gives us warnings of what sin does to our lives – and God knows that sin causes terrible pain and suffering.  (Think of wars, terrorism, hatred, abortion, rape, and murder.) Now the serpent, or may we say a little more clearly, satan has a different plan for our lives – this is a plan for our downfall, a plan for our destruction.  Satan wasn’t called the “father of all lies” for nothing!

Well, someone might just say, there are different types of lies – let’s not overreact here.  Yes, there are the really bad lies, the really black lies.  For example, I murder someone and deny it – surely we can agree that it is wrong, and pretty much everyone agrees upon it.  Those are like lies of tangled webs of deceit.  And then we can go through different shades of ombre.  Some grey lies are a little more serious – but hey, if no one gets hurt, what is the big deal.  Mom, “Jason, do you ever text while driving?”  Jason:  “Hey mom, you know I know the difference.  Don’t you trust me?”  All the while, Jason has neither said that he did or that he didn’t - he just evaded the question so he wouldn’t have to lie.  Is this my tactic?

Take the Test:
How honest am I?  Do I always tell the truth?  

• Have I ever told lies to make me look good in the eyes of other people?  Ex. “Coach says that I am the best player of my team.  He said I should go professional.”  
• Have I ever put the blame on someone else, particularly, if I was the culprit?  Ex:  “That vase, broken?  No it wasn’t me, must have been Seth.  I heard him playing hockey out in the dining room.”  
• Or do I get amnesia when asked particular questions by my parents or am particularly vague or not forthcoming with pertinent information that I should be sharing with them.  Ex. My friend is cutting or has expressed suicidal thoughts.  I am concerned but do nothing about it.  When I am asked about it later on, I deny that I knew it was going on.
• Have I ever told a lie to protect someone else’s feelings?  Ex:  “I totally love those jeans.  They look great on you. “  
• And the piece de resistance!  Have I ever told lies to protect myself from being punished by my parents?  Ex:  “No there wasn’t anyone at that party drinking or doing drugs.  I don’t know anyone who does that.   Yes, Alison’s parents were home. “   

The problem is, if we say that a few white lies are okay, we start to dull our conscience.  Our conscience cannot start to distinguish right from wrong anymore and we get caught up in a more serious spiral of sin upon sin, ever traveling in a further web of deceit and darkness.  Just like the spider, we get trapped.  It is hard to get out of telling lies and we tell more and more lies just to protect ourselves from getting into trouble from where the lie actually came from.  

The Real Deal:  
Does God really care if you tell lies or is He okay with lying – as long as no one gets hurt?   First of all we know that God hates any form of wrong doing in follower of Christ.  It says in Collosians3:9 “Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 [f]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.”  God is not staying stop the serious lies, He means all lying.  We need to be honest with ourselves, honest with others, honest with God, most of all.  Jesus said in John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  


Go Forward in the Truth:
Do you want to be set free from lying?  Get honest with God.   Make a decision that you are going to take a 360◦ from this type of sin. Deal with, if you can, with situations where you lied, and make amends to those whom you harmed.  It will be difficult, but God will help you.   Go to confession and receive the grace to help you to live in the truth.  If you are truly sorry, and want to have nothing more to do this web of lying and deceit, the Holy Spirit will help you in this battle for truth.  As you progress further and further in uprightness, the Holy Spirit will use your conscience to guide you in speaking and living in the truth.

Holy Spirit, I want to be set free from lying.  I want to follow Jesus and live in the truth.  
Help me turn away from the sin of lying.  
Reveal to me what I need to change in my life.  
Show me the people who I have hurt from my lying and deceiving.  
Also, show me how I have hurt myself, and how I have offended you.  
​Help me come clean and be made clean in Your love, in the name of Jesus.  
Amen


by Christine Manuel​

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