Bible Reading: Micah 6-7; Revelation 12.
Memory Verse: “For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.” Micah 6:12 (KJV).
On Monday, we looked at different types of lies and enjoined you to repent of any form of lie you are guilty of. However, for a better understanding, we need to know the various causes . At the heart of it all is satan; he is responsible for all lies. Jesus Christ says to the Pharisees in John 8:44 (KJV), “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” So everyone that lies is a servant of satan!
Some of the causes of lies are: Selfishness and Personal Gain. This is where a lie is told to obtain some benefit that you think you cannot achieve by being truthful. “Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? [11] Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?” Micah 6:10-12 (KJV). They use such weights in order to make more gains deceitfully.
For others, they tell lies in order to cover up their errors or sins. In Genesis 37:28-33, the children of Jacob deceived him to believe a wild animal killed Joseph to cover up their evil act. For some others, it is Pride and Envy; it is the pride of Ananias and Sapphira that made them lie about how much they sold their land ( Acts 5:1-9). In other cases, it may be due to Misguided Protection. People sometimes tell lies in order to protect families, friends or themselves thinking that telling the truth will expose such people to danger. Thus in Genesis 12:10-15; both Abraham and Sarah connived to lie that Sarah was his sister in order to protect the life of Abraham.
The fourth cause is Habit. A number of people are used to telling lies such that even in issues that they do not need to lie about, they do so because it has become habitual. This is captured succinctly in Psalm 52:2-4 (KJV), “Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. [3] Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. [4] Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.”
There is urgent need to repent of this sin in order to access God’s throne. It’s apparent that lies cause a lot of damage. Some of them include; condemning eternally and alienating one from God (Psalm 5:6), harming other people such as Esau was hurt by Jacob’s deceit of their father. Others include influencing others to commit sin as satan deceived Eve to commit sin in Gen 3:13. Also lying leads to loss of respect and confidence (Jeremiah 9:4-5).
It is important that you do whatever will make you overcome lies and deceit. These include; filling your heart with the word of God, staying far from falsehood, loving truth and hating lies and avoiding building deep relationship with people known to be liars and deceitful. Also, fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues often; this will draw you closer to the Holy Spirit who will direct your ways always thus steering you away from falsehood.
Action point: Examine yourself to see what often lead you to tell lies and take action to avoid it going forward.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero