Verse of the day: Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
The best
way to start this is to first make it clear that the Holy Spirit is not a
thing. He is God, just as much as the Father and the Son is God. It is the
Spirit who gives spiritual gifts to men, as He wills (1 Cor 12:11). He is
described in the Bible as being omniscient (1 Cor 2:10-11). There are many
verses of Scripture that show us that the Holy Spirit is truly God and a Person;
by His work in creation (Gen 1:2). He is Teacher, Comforter, Guide, intercedes
for us in prayer, and convicts the world of sin (Jn 16:13; 14:26; 16:8; Rm 8:14;
8:26). With that said, because He is a person, He can be grieved by our actions
and behavior as born again believers. In verse 30 we are told not to grieve (to
make sorrowful, affect with sadness, or offend) the Holy Spirit. As born again
believers, the Holy Spirit begins a work in us to make us more like our Savior
(Rm 8:29). The process by which we are transformed is called sanctification.
However, this process can be hindered and slowed down if our actions are
contrary to who we are supposed to be in Christ; not to mention the fact that
we make the process more painful than it needs to be. In verses 22-24, we are
told to put off the old man (and his ways), and put on the new man (in
righteousness and true holiness). The verses that follow give a description of
what some of the actions are that we are to avoid in order that we reflect the
new man and avoid grieving the Holy Spirit who indwells us (1 Cor 6:19). The
Apostle begins this list with the one thing that we would think needs no
mention in the life of a believer. In addressing those that are newly saved and
have come out of a paganist lifestyle, lying is a practice that was normal and
often difficult to get away from. However, as God’s children, we must know and
acknowledge that lying lips are an abomination to our God, and one of the thing
listed in God’s Word that He hates (Pro 12:22; 6:16-19). Just as God hates
lying, so we, as righteous and holy people in Christ, must also hate lying (Pro
13:5). For it is a lying tongue that causes division and strife within the body
of Christ. It is a lying tongue that will also serve as a false witness, which
God tells us not to bear against our neighbor (Ex 20:16). In the Book of Mark
(14:57), it was a false witness who lied about Jesus in order that He might be
condemned and crucified. In Acts 6:13 this was recounted. So my question to all
of us is, do we want to be counted with those who bore false witness against
our loving Savior and Lord? God forbid. Yet, how easy is it to excuse our lies
by dismissing them as “little white lies”? I believe God would classify (and we
could too) a lie as a lie, regardless of how big or small we may try to
classify it as. The fact of the matter
is that we, as God’s children, must be honest and true with our words.
Sometimes, we use our lying lips to try and escape the consequences of our
wrongful actions. We live in a society where it is easier to lie than it is to
take personal responsibility for our choices and actions. This ought not to be amongst
God’s people, regardless of the consequences; more so in dealing with one
another as brothers and sisters in Christ. The Apostle makes it a point to
stress that we are all members of one another. We belong to one body, the body
of Jesus Christ, the church. We are to speak truth and love truth. We ought to
be known both within the body and without the body as people who will be honest
under any circumstance, and that our words can be implicitly trusted. The difficulty
comes when we find ourselves in a situation when something happens at work or
in some other situation where telling the truth may bring trouble to us, a
co-worker, or someone we know and may be dear to us, resulting in the possible
loss of employment or a rebuke from a loved one (or for a loved one). This is
when we have a tendency to compromise and pull out the “little white lies” that
we believe can be justifiably used based on the circumstance(s) and desired
outcome. We then justify it by convincing ourselves that the lie helped us
avoid hurting someone’s feelings or causing them troubles we do not desire for
them. I ask you then, will God bless a lie? Can God not use our honesty to
ultimately bring a good end to whatever the situation, regardless of what kind
of conflict may come out of refusing to lie? Sadly, too many Christians will
condemn someone who is a murderer, rapist or child abuser, fornicator or
adulterer, but overlook those that have lying lips that cause division and
strife amongst us. Yet, God very clearly tells us that it is an abomination to
Him. In all of this we discount the fact that this is one of the sinful actions
that saddens the Holy Spirit who indwells us and knows what is in our hearts
and minds. No matter what we try to conceal with our lies, the Holy Spirit sees
what we have done and what we are either hiding or falsely accusing others of.
Let us strive to always tell the truth, and leave the consequences and outcome
to God who will always work all things together for our good (Rm 8:28).
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