Are You Like Pinocchio? By Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Do you remember the childhood story of Pinocchio? Every time he told a lie, his nose grew. It’s a story I’ve never forgotten, and I wonder if it had an early impact on my life because I have always been a truth-teller and feel betrayed when someone is less than honest with me.
Just like Pinocchio’s nose, when we lie, are deceitful, or omit part of the truth, the lie grows and becomes far worse than it would have been if we had just told the truth in the first place. And lying goes against God’s holy standard for our lives. Proverbs 12:22 says, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Proverbs 6 states the seven things that are detestable to God. Lying makes the list twice!
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.
So, it is clear. God hates lies. Here are a couple more verses on the subject to explain how serious the LORD is about lying:
No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes (Psalm 101:7, ESV).
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another (Ephesians 4:25, ESV).
If God feels this strongly about lying, why would we ever stretch the truth? Honesty is important to God. It’s part of our calling as believers to be upright and avoid falsehoods, no matter how difficult the truth is. When we are afraid to share truthfully with someone, we should pray for the words. God will show us what to say and how to say it without being dishonest. Let’s love God by loving truth!
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