Proverbs 6 contains a list of things that God won’t put up with: ‘There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community (v.16-19 NIV). Notice that lying is mentioned twice, as well as being mentioned alongside killing people and doing evil. We probably don’t think of lying being as bad as murder, but it’s clear that God takes lying very seriously. Even small lies that we think don’t matter or won’t really affect anyone else have so many downsides: 1) We’ll always have to remember what we said to whom, and if we let the lie continue and grow, chances are we’ll be found out. 2) We’ll have to live with the fact that we lied and damaged our character and integrity. That’s hard to do. 3) When we decide to pray, the first thing that will come to mind is the last thing we’ll want to discuss with God: our lies. 4) In Proverbs 6, there are no exceptions – it doesn’t say big lies or far-reaching, damaging lies are detestable to God, so therefore He must hate all lies. Colossians 3:9 says: ‘Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds’ (NLT). Let’s embrace our new natures of honesty and integrity, and make an effort to be truthful at all times.

What Now?

Are there any lies that you haven’t confessed to God? Today, make a choice to bring them into the open and tell God about them. Ask Him to show you if there’s anything you must do to fix any damage the lies may have caused.