Many of us lie and we beautify it or make the concept more acceptable by wrapping it up in euphemism and calling it easier names like 'fib' or in the Nigerian context, 'scope'. Case in point, a pretty lady in a bus to Lagos from Ibadan picks her call and is heard saying, " I can't possibly make it to Ibadan tomorrow morning because I'm in Abuja at the moment". She drops the call and smiles at other passengers in the bus and says, "I scoped him" and everybody laughs with her. This makes one wonder how and why under the heavens such a bald, plain faced lie could be so easily disregarded and casually laughed about. In Proverb 6:16-19 two of the things the bible tells us the Lord hates are 'a lying tongue' and 'a false witness; a liar'. How then can we claim to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, yet find terrible lies immensely funny? Something is really wrong somewhere.
People mostly rationalize their lies by convincing themselves that they were for a greater good. Truth can however, never be overrated because lying is always wrong no matter the intent nor how altruistic the liar was trying to be. A lie or prevarication or falsehood is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement especially with the intention to deceive others. It is often with the further intention to maintain a secret or reputation, to protect someone's feelings or to avoid punishment, consequence and repercussion of one's actions. Generally speaking, lying is second nature to man, flowing freely from our lips, often without remorse. However, just as it is absurd for the offspring of a sheep to bark, so also it is for a child of God to lie because God our father cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 89:35, Hebrews 6:13-18) and we are supposed to be like Him.
Psychologists affirm that young children learn from experience that stating an untruth or telling a lie can help them avoid punishment for a wrong doing. However, it takes years of watching people tell lies and seeing the positive results of these lies, to make them into adults who lie with ease and without scruples. The cycle is thus unending from generation to generation. It is therefore our responsibility as believers to break this cycle by telling the truth always in all things thereby influencing our children and subsequently the generations to come. Break the cycle, speak the truth and nothing but the truth! The only other alternative is silence and even that can be dangerous in certain situations.
Cheers and thanks for reading!
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