This passage from the book of Proverbs, often referred to as the biblical “Seven Deadly Sins,” makes it pretty clear that God hates lying. In fact, since two of the seven “deadly sins” refer to not telling the truth, one could surmise that lying is particularly abhorrent to God.

As someone who has spent most of the past 20 years working as a high school administrator, I have heard many lies. For some reason, teens often believe they can spin a tale that any adult will believe. I would often call out students, pointing out the clear untruths in their fanciful stories.

Why does God hate lying as He does? One obvious answer would be that since He knows all things, you cannot fool Him or convince Him of something that is untrue. So, when humans attempt to deceive each other, or when they deny their misdeeds to Him, He sees through the dishonesty and cover-ups.

But what if there is another reason? What if He finds lying offensive because it is based on the hope of avoiding the consequences of some poor choice or behavior? Since Jesus already paid the price for our misdeeds, maybe He is truly offended by these weak attempts to hide or deny our sins instead of confessing them.

Why would we want to act as though it didn’t happen and cower from His love? Instead, let us embrace the fact that the truth will set us free (John 8:32) and confess our sins.

Heavenly Father, let me truly understand your grace and forgiveness by daily confessing my sins and not minimizing them or pretending that they didn’t happen. Amen.

Go Deeper — When you are tempted to lie, ask yourself who you are deceiving. Recognize that God, who sees and knows all and who will ultimately be your Judge, is never convinced by your lies.



Tags: Proverbs proverbs 6
Photo Credit: Joao Tzanno