1 Samuel 27, Truthfulness vs. deception (3)

Let us continue to remind ourselves of ways we tell lies.

iii)      Matt. 5:33-37: The use of “extra words” (oaths, swearing) is related to lying.  At the least, the use of oaths gives the impression that our normal words cannot be trusted.  Jesus addressed this well: Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one (v37), and the evil one, Satan, is a liar by nature, the father of lies (Jn. 8:44-46).

iv)   Hiding our true feelings is lying.  Whoever hides hatred has lying lips (Prov. 10:18a).  Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful (Prov. 27:5-6).

Perhaps you can think of other ways we lie, apart from simply bearing false witness or boldly lying to improve our standing.  Many of our lies are skillfully disguised as something good.  We should think about our daily conversations with friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ and fellow-workers.  How are we hiding the truth? 

b)    Let us now consider a few of the long range benefits of telling the truth as opposed to the short term benefits of lying.

i)      Prov. 12:19: The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.  That’s the basic principle.

ii)   Prov. 20:7: The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.  Children are embarrassed by a father who has no integrity, whose words and agreements cannot be trusted.  What a blessing for children who have a dad who tells the truth.

iii)            Prov. 20:17: Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.  A guilty conscience is the long-term benefit of lying.  What you gain from a lie will not satisfy your soul.

iv) Prov. 21:6: Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.  Those who think it brings enjoyment to take advantage of people in financial deals have simply not lived long enough yet.  The time will come.  They will pay a terrible price.

The story of David in 1 Sam. 27 and 29 give further illustration of the consequences of lying (when he lied to the king of Gath, gaining the trust of the king, so that the king insisted David join the Philistine army when they went to war against Israel).  Perhaps you can think of times when this principle showed up in your own life.