Lying is on the list of the 6 things God hates (Proverbs 6:16-17). Have you ever dealt with a pathological liar? A pathological liar is defined as someone who has no control over their lying. While many people tell the occasional fib, this is someone who lies constantly and almost without recognizing that they are lying. I must confess that I was not very good at dating. I seemed to attract the least qualified candidates and there was a necessary weeding out of those who were not well suited. During this process, I encountered many liars. The Holy Spirit never failed to reveal their character to me. Here are a few examples:
On one occasion, someone had an entire conversation on the telephone in front of me. He said he was speaking to his present landlord. The landlord’s phone number was posted in the window as he was in the process of moving. I felt lead to call the landlord and ask him a question. When I called, the landlord said he had not spoken to him in quite some time. He had put on quite a compelling performance speaking into a phone with no one on the other end 😊
On another occasion, I had someone tell me that he was not feeling well and was going to take some Nyquil and go to bed early. I expressed my sympathy and ended the call. As I was leaving work that night, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to drive by his apartment. I am not a stalker, and this felt like stalker activity to me 😊 However, the Holy Spirit was insistent. When I got there, I was surprised to see him stepping out of his car dressed to the nines (as they say). He did not look sick. In fact, I thought he looked quite dapper 😊.
I also had someone, who wanted to date me, tell me that his father had his own airplane and pilot. He said we could go on a trip, but the pilot was on vacation. He knew I was in the process of purchasing a vehicle and offered to help me with the down payment (which I did not have). He wrote out a check for $1,500. He left the payee blank so I could use it as down payment, direct to the dealer. You guessed it; the check was rubberized 😊 It bounced not once but twice, after I gave it to the car dealership. It was by the grace of God that I was not charged with fraud. Interestingly, they allowed me to keep the car and make up the difference in down payment over time. That was God’s favor.
“White lies” are still lies. This is when we tell someone that they look great even though we are wondering when the last time was, that they had a good night’s sleep 😊 We should not tell lies designed to flatter someone, especially when they are unsolicited. You do not have to insult them either, you can just not comment.
We have the Holy Spirit living in us. He does not lie. He will also lead us into all truth; we just have to listen and follow Him.