It is so hard to tell the truth or even to hear the truth from someone. Somtimes we do not usually get the truth. We usually hear a lie to cover up something that someone has done in order for them not to know. When we hear a lie from our best friends or from our families, it makes you wonder a couple things. It makes you think you do not have trust from this person or they are ashmad to tell you the truth because of how your going to react to his or her lie. My question is, why do we have to tell lies to one another when the bible says that we must become honest men of God. Jesus defines the perfect example on how to be a honest men of God. First, let us look at how Jesus told the truth. He told the truth to his disciples throughout his three years of ministry. He taught them everything that they needed to know in order for them to begin the church and to be able to change the world through the teachings of Jesus. He took it a step further by telling them illustrations or parables in order for them to better understand what Jesus was trying to get to the moral of the story. Unlike Jesus, humans today can not tell the truth to one another. Sometimes our minds will play tricks on ourselves thinking we can tell lies. For instance, when someone would ask a question where were you when you got home, we usually tell them a lie because we do not want them to know where we truly were. Then they would ask more and more questions about where you were, and you still had to keep telling lies in order to cover the before lies you just told them. Eventually, you would end up in a hole full of lies. In Proverbs 12:22 it says, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight." We need to know now that lying to one another not only hurts the person who your lying too, but also to God. God wants a honest men to live faithfully according to His purpose. Jesus told the truth to men in order for us to listen to what he had to say.
We must be able to listen to the truth after hearing from the truth. Before they heard Jesus tell the truth about the last days on this earth, He told his disciples what he was going to build, a place where His people can come together every first day of the week in unity to worship the Father. This very same place back then and called today, is the church. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew chapter 16, starting in verse 18, "...upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..." When his disciples saw Jesus suffer in pain before they hanged him on the cross, dying on the cross, and rising three days after His crucifixion; his disciples knew they had listened to the truth the whole time when they finally saw the truth at hand. After when Jesus left this earth and ascended into heaven, the twelve disciples became the twelve apostles. They had listen to Jesus speak the truth for three years and watching it all come true. Now it was the time for the twelve apostles to speak the truth about Jesus the Son of Living God, telling each and every individual that a man came here to die on a cross for your sins so that you may have eternal life. We need to listen on what God has to say on every subject matter in able for us to tell the truth everyday. Read his words, learn from them, teach them, and bring it to life when you speak the truth and nothing but the truth.
After when Jesus told the truth and the disciples listen to the truth, they were finally ready to speak the truth. On the day of Pentecost, Peter standing from the twelve (vs. 14), preached the first gospel sermon in front of three thousand people. In verse 37, they were pierced to the heart because of what Peter had preached to them about a man named Jesus who died on a cross for your sins and telling them you crucified Him. The people new that they had to be speaking the truth and not lies, because they were eyewitness 50 days ago. In 2 Peter 1:16 says, "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." Do you know what this verse is saying? They did not make up a story about a man coming to earth being a savior to mankind. All of His disciples were eyewitness of what Jesus did by telling them the truth about everything they needed to know, they followed him everywhere he went to listen to the truth day and night, and they were finally ready to speak the truth to the world because of what Jesus said to them before his last days on earth (Matt 28:18-20).
In conclusion, we need to get a better understanding of not being able to tell a lie to our friends or even our parents. Remember the story in Acts chapter 5 about Ananias? He had sold a piece of his property but he kept some of the money for himself. He brought some of it back to lay it down by Peter's feet but he asked him in verse 3, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?" Listen careful to these next words what Peter told him, "You have not lied to men but to God." Before we are fixing to tell a lie to someone about a situation or whatever the case may be, remember what Peter said to Ananias. He lied not only to Peter, but lied to God! As Christians, we can not lie to Our God! Before Joseph was about to lay in bed with Potiphar's wife, he said to himself, "How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?" We must ask ourselves this question every single time we are about to tell a lie but also to other sinful actions we are about to commit in our lives. I like to leave a challenge for you after when you have read this blog. In movie Liar Liar, a man would lie every single day to get out of every situation. Whether it was at work or at his home, he would lie no matter what the problem was at that time. Until, his little boy wished that his dad could not tell a lie for one day at his birthday party. The little boy's wish came true and his father could not tell a single lie that day. My question for you is, Can you go one day without telling a lie? This is the challenge I have for you today. How can men of God lie to one another. Let us be honest men of God so that we may be able to lead from the inside out.
