DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR
MONDAY, AUGUST 30TH, 2010
“SOMETHING GOD HATES”
BY
GREG LAURIE
These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.
—Proverbs 6:16-19
God hates lying. In fact, God thinks so much of truth that He uses the very word to describe His character. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). And we are told in Scripture that it is impossible for God to lie (see Hebrews 6:18). Lying is not in God's nature; He cares a lot about truth.
When we lie, we are behaving more like a child of the devil than a child of God, because the Bible describes Satan as "the father of lies" (John 8:44). And we all may lie a little more than we think. A study was done in which people were asked why they lie. Ninety-eight percent of respondents said they lied to keep from offending someone else. I can understand that to a certain degree, because telling the truth isn't always easy—especially when you are asked a difficult question like, "How did you like dinner?" or "Do you like my new outfit?" Even so, lying is still a sin.
There are subtle ways in which we tell lies, such as through flattery and exaggeration. We also lie when we say things like, "Oh, I forgot" (when we didn't), or "It's good to see you" (when it isn't), or "I was just getting ready to call you" (when we weren't). We also lie through gossiping and backbiting. Proverbs 20:19 NLT says, "A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don't hang around with chatterers." We love to dispense gossip, and unfortunately, we love to hear it far too often.
Have you ever had someone gossip about you? Lie about you? Lie to you? Then you know how destructive it is. God hates lying—and we should too.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries
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