To Tell the Truth

 

An honest witness does not deceive,

but a false witness pours out lies.

Proverbs 14:5

I grew up with two brothers, one four years older than me, and the other two years older than me..  My oldest brother was on the autism spectrum and it was difficult for my childhood brain to comprehend him.  The middle boy – we’ll call him Jack – had a jovial spirit and a grin that went on for miles.  I was the annoying little sister.

When it came to obeying my mother (the stay-at-home parent), Jack and I had polar opposite approaches.  When Mom told me to do something that I didn’t want to do, I tried to argue my way out of it.  That usually landed me a lecture or worse, and eventually I stomped off and did as I was told.

When Mom approached Jack, he would gift her with one of his huge angelic grins and say, “Sure, Mom,” then he would go right back to what he wanted to do.  Many times, what Mom wanted from him never quite got done.  I’m sure Jack never felt that he was lying to her.  He was simply “putting things off.”

We humans are amazingly adept at lying.  Every time we deceive someone, we are empowered to lie again.  But God is not fooled. He sees everything and knows us far better than we know ourselves.  Lying might get you out of sticky situations, but eventually it will destroy your soul.