The Power of a Lie
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Over the past few years, I have really seen the damage of lying and using one’s tongue for evil. On the surface level, when someone lies, trust is broken and we find ourselves questioning the veracity of everything that individual has ever said. But on a deeper level, according to scripture, when we lie, we become the offspring of the enemy. We allow Satan to use our tongue and he is our father. Our tongue has the potential to bring death. When put in that perspective, suddenly lying doesn’t seem so alluring.
According to Proverbs, our tongue has both death and life. I think it’s interesting that death comes first in the scripture. If we look around in the media and history, we see that power of our tongue illuminated.
In American history, we can see that racist lies about innocent people of color (POC) led to lynching, mob mentalities, stealing, and the burning down of areas that belonged to POC communities. For example, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, was beaten, lynched, and his mutilated body thrown in a river because an adult White woman accused him of flirting with her. In the 1950s southern America, that was punishable by death. And yet, she admitted decades later that she had lied. A little boy was brutally murdered because she lied.
We see instances where out of spite, a woman has lied on a man and made claims of assault that were not true. (That’s even biblical, read Genesis 39 when Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of having raped her because she didn’t get her way). In those instances, the tongue that lied cost people’s lives and livelihood.
In World War I, the German nationalist response to losing the war began the anti-Semitic rhetoric that would get Hitler in power, before World War II, to enact the Holocaust. In that case, that lie that they lost the war because of the Jewish community, (known as the “Stab in the Back myth”), took a few years to ruminate and fester, but when fully expressed, it paved the way for 6 million people to die just because of their identity. Even gossip, which sometimes is a form of lying, has ruined people’s reputations, etc.
We have briefly seen that lies have cost lives, had people killed, started wars, ruined reputations, and decimated world populations. Can you imagine, that our tongue, which may be one of the smallest things in our body, has the power to do so much damage, especially through lying? So you see where I’m going here. Lying is such a damaging thing, and yet people think “Oh, this is a white lie” or “it’s not a big deal”. Beloved, there is NO scripture that denotes various levels of lying. There’s no white lie, a little lie, etc. A lie is a lie.
I want to leave you with James 3:1-12, in which completely illustrates the power of the tongue, and while you read it, think about it in the specific context of lying:
James 3:1-12 NKJV
The Untamable Tongue
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
Saints, do not let lying be your portion. When you grasp how lying can have an effect beyond the one intended, it should make you think twice before you lie. If you struggle with lying, ask the Lord to help you be free from a spirit of lying, and ask His spirit of truth to come upon you.
Let’s pray:
Lord, I understand the damage and power of a lie. I ask for forgiveness for lying and using my tongue for destruction. I fall out of agreement with the spirit of lying and manipulation, and I ask it to be replaced with a spirit of truth. Help me not to be tempted to lie. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Go in peace and truth!