The damage of lies
by Pastor Chris Mann
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‘Then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party’ (Deuteronomy 19:19a).
Lying. Does it ever do any good? Don’t answer that.
My first reading of the passage today really jolted me. It rocked my poor, sensitive, western ears! ‘Purge the evil! Show no pity!’
Such things sound very harsh to me. And then I remember how angry I get whenever:
- my children lie, getting one of their siblings into trouble (and themselves out of trouble)
- a criminal lies about something they did
- a politician or businessperson is found to be corrupt.
Rarely, however, am I this angry when I lie, which is interesting, in and of itself.
God really doesn’t want people to lie – especially when it comes to crime. And he doesn’t want it to happen because he wants us to be safe with each other, to protect each other, to care for each other – and that can’t happen when we lie about each other. Lies destroy families, churches, whole communities, and even countries.
I admit, reading passages like this can be shocking to me. But it is wonderful to know that God is willing to go to great lengths to keep people safe from the destructive power of lies. May we also be willing to take hard – but good – steps to keep people safe from destructive lies as well.
Heavenly Father, please keep me safe from the power of lies. Help me to avoid lying and help me to honour people with my words. Help me to work to protect the truth and use it to serve others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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