No crying wolf.

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.” (Colossians 3:9 ESV)

To lie is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive, to create a false or misleading impression. How many lies have you told in your life? Your entire life? I cannot count them. We tell lies to try and not get in trouble. We lie and justify it as trying to “not hurt someone’s feelings.” We lie when we forget something. We lie to look better to others. If you try to tell me you have never lied, you are lying to me.

Is it hard not to lie? I know people who are so used to lying they lie when they have no reason to lie. Paul is telling the Colossians we are not to lie. We are new in Christ we put the ways of the flesh behind us. But you and I will be placed in a position where it seems the lesser of two evils is to “bend the truth” a bit. It is still a lie. Paul also wrote to the Ephesians, reminding them of our deceitful nature, writing, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.” (Ephesians 4:2.)

What was the last lie you told? Do you remember it? You should because the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, and a lie is a sin. We should feel guilty about lying, and we should strive to be truthful in all we do.

Do I not have something more serious to write about? Some “greater” sin to ponder? No, not at this moment. When we start dismissing a sin because, in our eyes, it is not a serious sin,” we place ourselves on a very slippery slope. All sins are serious sins; all are a rebellion against the will of God. There is a problem when we minimize sin. Our eyes are not right. We are not seeing our sin for what it is. If this is you, then repent and ask God to help you walk away from Satan.

It is Satan who says, “Oh, that’s not a serious sin. It’s okay,” or “God won’t mind you just trying to protect someone’s feelings.” Remember, Satan is the father of lies. Satan’s whole life is about lying. He twists scripture, pushes us towards sin, and normalizes it.

Brothers and sisters, sin is sin. We can never be as holy as God, but we better be trying to be as holy as we can. Think about this the next time you consider deception for whatever reason, and remember, God sees everything we do.

Grace and Peace!