Jesus said (John 14: 12) ‘I tell you the truth’
As followers of Jesus we too must tell the truth
Sadly, sometimes, we don’t tell the truth
Sometimes, instead of telling the truth, we tell lies
Over the last few weeks we have been identifying the lies we tell
1/ we lie when we oppose the truth
2/ we lie when we hide the truth
3/ we lie when we use blame
4/ we lie when we say ‘I don’t know’ – when we do know
5/ we lie when we say ‘I will’ – but what we really mean is, ‘I won’t
6/ we lie when we make excuses
Making excuses is a very popular way of lying
Real Life examples:
Not going to work:
I woke up in a good mood and didn’t want to ruin it by going to work
I accidentally got on a plane instead of going to work
Not going to school:
Dear School: Please excuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.
Please excuse Philip for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.
Please excuse David for being absent yesterday. It was his father’s fault.
For car crashes:
The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him
I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.
Insurance claims:
You informed me that there is no such thing as theft between a husband and wife -you obviously don’t know my wife
Not going to Church:
I’ve worked all week so I’m too tired to go.
I’m sorry I can’t come to church because I’m all out of peanut butter.
A mother was trying to get her son out of bed to go to Church. The son said ‘No, I’m not going’. The mother said ‘why not’? The son said, ‘the people at church don’t like me’, the mother said, ‘son, you have to go to church – you are the pastor’
As Christians we must be very careful not to make excuses – it’s lying
Exodus 32: 21-24
24 ‘out came this calf’
Because of Aaron’s foolishness and lying, God brought judgement upon the people of God
Exodus 32: 25-28
Dear friends, don’t make excuses – don’t lie, tell the truth
7/ we lie when we flatter other people
Definition: we ‘flatter’ other people when we say something nice about someone (that may not be true) hoping they will do us a favor
Real Life Example: Young singles may use flattery to attract a husband or a wife who has money
Do you know the saying ‘no money, no honey’?
Young single woman says to a young single man ‘Oh, you are so handsome’
Young single man says to a young single woman ‘Oh, you are so beautiful’
1 Thessalonians 2:5 ‘Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money’!
Daniel 6: 3-9
7 ‘prays…to you’ (they used flattery to trick the King)
Daniel 6: 10 Daniel refused to pray to the King
Daniel 6: 16-17 Daniel is thrown to the lions
Daniel 6: 19-24 Flattery will get you into trouble!
Job 32:22 ‘For if I tried flattery, my Creator would soon destroy me’
Dear friends, don’t use flattery to get a favor – don’t lie, tell the truth!
revdotdavid 