Janet Parshall Commentary

Thou Shalt Not Lie

         Using a pen of fire, God etched into stone 10 Commandments that serve both as a moral code of conduct and as a profound reminder that each of us is in need of a Savior. But, are we capable of keeping these 10 non-negotiables on a daily basis?

         The 9^th Commandment states: “You shall not give false witness against your neighbor.” This means two things—do not lie when testifying in court and simply—do not lie. But we struggle with this directive.

         Polling companies do polls on just about everything and a recent survey done by OnePoll dealt with the issue of lying. The study reveals that 53% of Americans believe they’re good at spotting when others are lying to them, while just 8% think they’re poor at it. The research also reveals when people think it’s a good time to use their lying skills— with playing poker (32%), when someone asks if you like what they’re wearing and you don’t (30%), and when someone makes you a horrible meal (27%) top the list.

         On average, Americans lie 4 times a day and those surveyed feel that someone lies to them 6 times a day. Despite what appears to be an uptick in lying, 54% say honest is very important to them.

         When it comes to emotions, two in five (42%) think they wear their hearts on their sleeves and find it difficult to hide emotions, which appears to have an impact on lying.

         The poll was commissioned by an online betting company. A spokesperson for the company said, “Body language doesn’t always tell us the full picture of what is going on, but it can give us a good idea. Like most things, the more you know someone, the more you’re able to tell if they are a good or bad liar. It’s also fascinating to see just how important we value telling the truth—but admit to telling little white lies every day.”

         What a paradox. We value truth but we lie almost every day.  So, what does the Bible have to say on the subject? There are 166 verses in Scripture dealing with lying, so it’s fair to say this issue is of importance to God.

         A lie is what caused our exodus out of Eden. The serpent started by questioning what God said about not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve knew that if she disobeyed, the consequence would be death but the deceiver declared, “You will not certainly die.” That lie moved mankind out of a place of perfection and caused a chasm of separation from God that could only be bridged by the Cross. God takes lying very seriously.

         The Bible reminds us that God “detests lying lips” (Proverbs 12:22) When we value truth over a lie and desire nothing more than to love God completely through obedient living, the result will be that we “put off falsehood and speak truthfully: (Eph. 4:25)

         Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.