Stripping Off Dishonesty
One morning during a sermon I was rather enjoying, my pastor made a bold statement that pinched my heart just a little. He declared, “People pleasers often lie.” Gulp. I had to admit that sadly, there are times I am one fantastic fibber.
Sometimes, I slightly twist the truth so I won’t hurt someone’s feelings when asked for my opinion. Still in other situations, I outright lie just to avoid a confrontation with someone over a political or other hot-topic issue.
And I also admit there are times I only tell half the truth, conveniently leaving parts out. However, as I often tell my children, “A half-truth is still a whole lie.”
At the root of all these varied forms of dishonesty is this commonality: I lied in order to please someone else.
However, all this twisting, shading, fibbing and half-truth telling certainly does not please the only One who matters—the Lord.
In Colossians 3:9, the Apostle Paul urges believers, “And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.” Deceit is associated with our behavior before we became followers of Christ. It is not something that should be a character quality of those who’ve responded to the gospel and become believers.
Thankfully, I know from experience that God can empower us to strip off our dishonest ways, no matter how justified our lies may seem. We can learn to roll our truths in a blanket of love—remembering it is God we seek to please, not others. Let’s learn to retrain our brains, not thinking “What do they want me to say?” but instead praying “Lord, help me to speak the truth in love.”
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