The Ninth Commandment can be described best just as it is stated: “Thou shalt not lie.”  Each Christian should be a person of indisputable honesty.  Gray is in no way right; it must be either black or white.

 

Expectation built in a lie is always the foundation of loss.  Never attempt to build anything on a foundation of lies and half-truths.  It will not stand.

 

It has been said that it should be easy to make an honest living because there is so little competition.  Only a person with honesty and integrity can be accurately motivated or directed.  Lying will always distort your ability to see God’s guidance in your life. It will cause you to take steps that are not right for you.  Lying will cost you more in the long-term than you think it saves you in the short-term. 

 

I was talking with two ministers at a conference.  One was sharing a story of something profound that happened to him early on in his ministry.  He gave very moving, specific details.  The very next day the other minister shared the exact same story, right down to the specific details, as if it had happened to him.  It was obvious he had forgotten that I was standing there to hear the story from the other minister the day before.

 

Lying easily becomes a habit.  A person who lies once will lie again with less effort the next time.  Lying is a trap.  No one has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.  T.L. Osborn says, “Always tell the truth, and you never have to remember what you said.”

 

In Proverbs 12:22 we read, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.”  Proverbs 19:9 says, “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.”  In Colossians 3:9-10 the apostle Paul admonishes us: “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.”

 

The Bible mentions seven results of lying.  If you lie: 

1. You will attract liars into your life (Proverbs 17:4)
2. You will lack understanding (Psalm 119:104).
3. You will never enjoy permanent results (Proverbs 12:19; 21:28).  
4. You will end up in bondage (Galatians 2:4).
5. You will be punished (Proverbs 19:5).
6. You will become a fool (Proverbs 10:18).   
7. Your lies will come back upon you (Psalm 7:14-16). 

                                                                                    

We live in society today that says, nobody lies any more, we just remember big.  Little white lies grow to be big black lies.  Determine to be free from the bondage of breaking the Ninth Commandment; determine to always tell the truth.
 

Tim Todd