“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil“ (Matthew 5:33-37).
Have you ever heard it said that “Honesty is the best policy”? Well that’s wrong. It should say, “Honesty is the ONLY policy.” It is the only one that is acceptable to God. There is a lot of dishonesty in the world. Lying. Cheating. Deceiving. Hypocrisy. And it all comes from Satan. He has been lying from the beginning. Jesus tells us that Satan is the “father of lies.” But God is the Father of truth. So who are we going to follow?
Jesus tells us to be true to our word. Honest. Faithful. Your word means everything to your character and reputation. We can be tempted to lie when we find ourselves in an embarrassing situation. We might lie if it will keep us out of trouble. Lying can come about when it will get us something we want. But God hates lying. In fact, lying is one of the sins listed several times when the Bible speaks of those going to Hell. So is lying worth losing your soul over? The answer is no. And while we may be able to deceive people, there is no deceiving God. God knows everything we think, say, and do.
It’s either “Yes” or “No.” Anything else is lying. So be honest. No matter the situation. God does not lie to us. God cannot lie. It isn’t in His nature. He is holy. God doesn’t want us to lie either. We cannot lie if we are going to be His. It cannot be in our nature. We are to be holy as God is holy. Think before you speak. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Lying may gain you something for yourself in the moment, but it won’t gain you anything with God. Be honest. Be God’s.
A Cord of Blue 