Who Me, A Liar?

Who Me, a Liar?

You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

Deuteronomy 5:20

So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

Ephesians 4:25

If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

1 Peter 3:10-11

“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Have you ever said that little rhyme when someone said something mean or unkind to you? If only it were true. Because words do hurt people—especially when those words are not true. They hurt both the person who speaks the lie and the person who is lied about.

We don’t like to think of ourselves as liars, but all of us would have to admit that we have told outright lies in our lifetime. Or perhaps we’ve lied by twisting the truth or allowing a falsehood to go unchallenged. But while the ninth commandment prohibits lying, it specifically refers to saying something false about someone else. What does it mean to “testify falsely”? It is when a child spins the story of what happened in order to get a sibling in trouble, when a teenager withholds the truth about a friend’s character so Mom and Dad won’t prevent him or her from hanging out with this person. It’s a mom who criticizes someone else to make herself look better. It’s a dad who unfairly allows a coworker to look bad in the boss’s eyes so he can get a leg up.

The Heidelberg Catechism tells what to do instead. It says, “I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

How does it feel when someone says something about you that isn’t true?

Is there a difference between putting spin on a story and lying? How about between a little white lie and an outright whopper? How about between telling an untruth and allowing an untruth to go unchallenged?

Why do you think God takes lying so seriously?