“College – University of New Hampshire – 3 year lettered”
From George O’Leary’s resume
“Is anyone trying to tell me that resumes are truthful? In the America we live in, the willingness to lie on a resume is an indication of how much you want the job.”
August 8, 2002 issue of Sports Illustrated
“The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked ambivalent, conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everyone condemns lying. On the other, nearly every does it nearly every day.”
From the article Pumping Up Your Past in Time magazine
Speak Truth!!
Exodus 20:16
"Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.”
Psalm 12:22
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him . . . a lying tongue . . . a false witness who pours out lies.”
Proverbs 6:16-19
"A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.”
Proverbs 14:5
"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor.”
Ephesians 4:25
"Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.”
Colossians 3:9
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”
Revelation 21:8
The 9th Commandment . . .
- Is attacked continually.
- Lying under oath – one who refuses to give evidence or gives false evidence
“The Jewish law was so arranged that a witness was compelled to think of his responsibility for the truth. Jewish thought hated false witness; Jewish law condemned false witness; and Jewish regulations did everything to make a witness hesitate to tell anything but the truth.”
William Barclay
- The direct lie – intentional and even premeditated
- The indirect lie – arranging facts in such a way you allow other to believe that which is not true
- The sin of silence – keeping quiet when you know the truth
- Slander – making false accusations against another person
- Flattery – the sin of insincere compliments
- Careless exaggeration – a statement that represents something as better or worse than what it really is
- Lying to God (fox-hole religion) – spiritual/practical promises you fail to keep
“No man can tame the tongue. It is restless, full of deadly poison.”
James 3:8
- Gossip
Gossip contains a fair amount of misinformation.
The one who gossiped about never gets to defend himself.
Gossip contains truth but the truth is saidto the wrong person for the wrong reason.
“Perhaps the one spreading gossip is not lying, but he or she is being truthful; saying things that are true, but in the context of slander it is deceitful. The neighbor’s mistakes, faults, and shortcomings are discussed in minute detail. People realize this kind of chatter gets them an attentive audience. For it is the universal phenomenon that would rather hear something bad about our neighbor than something good.”
JochemDouchem in The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life
Questions for gossipers:
Is what I am about to say true?
If so, does it really need to be said to this person in this conversation?
Is it beneficial?
Why am I getting ready to say it?
Would I put it this way if the person I’m talking about were here to listen?
“With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, we who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same spring.”
James 3:9-11
It is sinful to gossip – it is sinful to listen to gossip.
“The words of gossip are like choice morsels: they go down to a man’s inmost parts.”
Proverbs 18:8
The only ones we should talk to about sin – is to the one that is sinning.
Do you have credibility in their life?
Are you really concerned about their spiritual well-being?
Do you have spiritual insight that would be beneficial to them?
Are you able to keep confidences?
- Asserts that we should stand for truth.
“The old view: Lying, like other issues of morality, was seen only in black and white. Children were taught that all lying was bad and deserving of strict punishment and frequently reminded that lying will make your nose grow as long a Pinocchio’s. New view: Today, some lying is considered normal. In fact, a child’s first few lies are seen as an important step in the development.”
From The Truth About Lying from Child magazine
“Speak the truth to one another.”
Zechariah 8:16
“Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.”
Leviticus 19:11
How to become a truthful person . . .
- Practice creative silence
“Where words are many, sin is not absent; but he who holds his tongue is wise.”
Proverbs 10:19
“A man of understanding holds his tongue.”
Proverbs 11:12
“He who guards his tongue guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”
Proverbs 13:3
“He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”
Proverbs 21:23
- Practice personal accountability
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”
Proverbs 11:14
- Is anchored in God’s own character and truth.
“It is the mark of the Christian to be truthful, for Christianity is established in God’s truth. God’s people, formed into local congregations are like islands of truth in the midst of an ocean of lies. God’s people are to be communities of truth.”
Dr. Albert Mohler
- Attracts us to the Gospel.
“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
John 8:32
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6