Lies of Necessity

"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices."- Colossians 3:9

Polltaker George Bana says that approximately three of four adults between the ages of 18 and 25 don’t believe in absolute truth. Cheating, dishonesty, and misrepresentation have become a way of life, not only to this generation but also to that of their parents who developed the art of fabricating truth in the 50s and 60s.

Does God view honesty as a black or white sort of situation? Would God accept our argument that situations determine whether telling the truth is really the best policy? The argument that "everybody is doing it", or "you can’t get into grad school without fudging on your entrance exams" or "you can’t convince a girl that you are really a macho guy unless you bend the truth" or "your lectures will be more exciting if you add made-up narration to history" doesn’t impress God. In simple terms, God stresses telling the truth. It is not in His character to lie, nor does He allow His children to lie, either.

Whenever this subject comes up, almost invariably someone points out two situations from the Old Testament. One involved the midwives who had been instructed by Pharaoh to kill the male babies born to Hebrew women. "They got here before we can do anything about it," lied the two women, Shiprah and Puah. The other situation involved Rahab, the prostitute, who protected Joshua and Caleb when they came to spy out Jericho.

"There," say detractors of absolute morality, "are two examples from the Bible justifying bending the truth to protect other people." Centuries later, in Nazi Germany, medical personnel were required to report any appearance of deformities or abnormalities in children–purportedly for the purpose of giving them special treatment. They got special treatment, all right, the kind that earmarked them for certain death.

Does God require you to keep faith or be honest with evil? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who resisted Hitler’s regime, did not believe that God wanted men to keep faith with wickedness. He was part of a plot to overthrow the Füehrer that went sour, and he was executed for his involvement in the attempt.

But by and large, this is not the same issue that confronts you when you fill out your tax return or go through customs or fill out your expense report. When you are tempted to bend the truth, it is usually to make your paycheck larger than you deserve or look better than you are.

"Speak the truth" is the dictum of Paul to the Ephesians, who lived in a world not unlike ours at all. "Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices" is the direction that Paul gave to the Colossians (Colossians 3:9). This means that the burden of truth rests on your shoulders. You have two options: do as most people do, which is to present the truth as you want it to appear, or choose to tell the truth and so live that you don’t have to protect yourself by dishonesty.

The person who lies consistently and repeatedly to himself isn’t sure of the difference between what is truth and what is his perception of it, but God understands the difference very clearly. Of that you can be sure. Resource reading: Joshua 6

* * *

Guidelines for Finding Your Way is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, 1284 Makati City or e-mail [email protected]. Visit our website www.guidelines.org.