I love statistics. I know; figures lie and liars figure and that’s what makes these figures so cool – they’re about lying!

According to a book called The Day America Told the Truth:

  • 91 percent of Americans admitted they lie on a regular basis
  • 86 percent of Americans admitted they lie to their parents
  • 75 percent of Americans admitted they lie to their friends
  • 69 percent of Americans admitted they lie to their spouse

So what’s with all the lying? We know people lie to us and if we think about it we know we lie to others either by blatantly fibbing, skewing the truth, or withholding information. Why do we do this?

The simple answer is we like the lie better than the truth. The more complex answer is we are ashamed of the truth.

Think about it for a second, the reason we lie is because telling the truth will do one of the following things:

  • Get us in trouble because we’ve done something we shouldn’t have
  • Hurt the other person
  • Embarrass us
  • Reveal our sin life
  • Make us responsible when we want to avoid responsibility

When it’s all said and done lying is about us; it is a selfish act for selfish reasons even when masked in not wanting to hurt another because you are hurting them worse by not telling them the truth.

This will be a short blog today because the message is really simple: Don’t lie.

Don’t be a person whose walk is such where you need to lie in order to stand before other men (and women).

Don’t live a life where you are so ashamed of your actions that you have to lie to cover them up.

Don’t be so selfish that all you think about is yourself. Think about your responsibility to God and tell the truth no matter how painful or ugly. God already knows whether you’re lying or not so you may as well come clean.

Start by telling yourself the truth and that truth might just be you’re a liar and you need to clean up your act. If you’re good in this area but know someone who struggles go to them in love and gentleness and help them walk in the light of truth instead of the darkness of lies. Given the statistics above chances are good you know someone that needs your help.

This is hard – nobody likes to be called a liar. But remember the words of Revelation 21:8 and really think about them:

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”