To Lie, or Not To Lie?

                                            To Lie, or Not To Lie? 

In the article “Why Tell the Truth,” Joseph Stowell sheds light on the virtues of the forgotten value of truth; moreover, he exposes the incredible detriments of falsehood. Stowell explains the spiritual consequences of lying, and the different forms of non-truth that manifest in daily life. These different forms of non-truth are beguilement, deceit, lying, and false witness. Stowell identifies specific passages in the Bible for reasons that we, as Christians, shouldn’t lie. A few of the specific passages can be found in Proverbs 6:17, Revelation 21:8, and Psalm 51:6. Truth is so important to God – it aligns us with Him, and when we speak non-truth, we are actually identifying with the devil and his nature, rather than God.

Nowadays, it’s very easy to let non-truth slip through the cracks and be found as acceptable. Modern journalists sometimes speak non-truth through beguilement. Beguilement is the tendency to come to a wrong conclusion or false assumption about someone or something without sufficient evidence to prove it as true. This can lead to destructive rumors and vilification of someone’s reputation.

While beguilement is defined as jumping to false conclusions without sufficient facts, deceit is taken certain facts and twisting them to distort truth. Stowell uses a Biblical example to display deceit in it’s most original form. He uses Satan’s presentation of the tree to Eve and how he twisted the words of God to make Him appear to be a restrictive and unloving God, rather than a God who is genuinely loving and caring for the well being of his creation. Deceit destroys trust, and tears down relationships, and ultimately led to the fall of man.

Lying is the most direct way of communicating non-truth of the four forms that Stowell describes. We lie almost every day. We all know what it is, and it almost doesn’t need any explaining. Many believe the lies of the devil because he’s so good at it. He’s the father of lies – it’s his language. According to Stowell, “Lying is the strength of Satan’s system. Not only does he lie, but his desire is that we will lie as well. When we lie, we imitate Satan rather than God.” That’s a harsh reality.

The fourth form of non-truth that we use is false witness. Many have, to some degree more than others, given false testimony against someone for their own personal gain. It’s destructive, and God’s tenth commandment to us says not to do it.

I believe that Stowell does a great job in explaining the damage and consequences that non-truth has. He also logically breaks down all of the nuances of non-truth and it’s different forms. This is a must read for the modern Christian journalist!