It's Okay To Lie

Stop for a minute and answer this question: Do you like to be lied to?  I am going to go out on a limb and say that you answered that in the negative.  I don't know anyone who likes to be lied to.  When someone lies to you and you find out about it, it can be very hurtful.  Sometimes the lie is just a little one: "No, Officer, I was not speeding.  I had my cruise set 5 MPH under the speed limit!"  Sometimes, it is a little bigger: "No, I wasn't with another women, I told you I had to work late!"  Many times, we lie....oh, I'm sorry....none of us lie, we just stretch the truth a bit.  Many times, we stretch the truth a bit to save face, to make ourselves look better, or to feel more confident about our abilities.  Sometimes, we even lie when it comes to questions of accountability: "Yes, I did my Quiet Time today!"

So what does God think of all of this?  The Bible tells us in John 14:6 that Jesus is the truth!  In John 17:17, Jesus said that God's Word is truth.  If something is true, it is absolutely accurate. If something is true, it is absolutely believable.  God does not just have truth, but rather He is truth!  So when you and I do not speak the 100% truth, we are going against God's nature!  That is called sin.  God does not qualify some sin as little sin (lying, gossip, stealing, etc.) and some sin as big sin (murder, rape, adultery).  God calls it all sin!  It is all egregious to Him!  It is us who, as we try to justify our own sin, like to compare it to other sins.  We know we told a lie, but at least we didn't kill anyone!  The fact remains that we are not to compare our sin to other sins, but rather our sin to Jesus!  When we compare our sin to Jesus, we recognize that it is all wrong! Many times when we think about Jesus dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, we think about Him dying for the big ones - lust, homosexuality, Satan worship, etc.  But Jesus died for all our sins!  He died for the lie you told your boss or spouse or friend.  He died for the hatred you have in your heart towards someone. He died for the lust in your heart towards another person.  He died for all of our sins. 

So why do we keep on doing the very sins that put Jesus on the cross?

It's okay to lie?  Sure, you can keep lying and tell yourself that.  But when you look at Jesus, you see that anything less than 100% truth is sin.  Confess it; get it right with God; put off lying and put on the truth!