I frowned. “Are you really going to say that? Is it even true?” I queried. My friend shot me a disarming smile. “Well, it’s only a little lie, a little white lie,” she said, taking in my raised eyebrows. “Surely that’s acceptable, isn’t it?” Was it acceptable? I feel sure we’ve all been faced with situations in which it would be easier, or less confrontational, or kinder, to tell those ‘little white lies’. Sometimes it seems they slip unbidden out of our mouths! But is there such a thing as a ‘little’ lie? And how does it improve it to class it a ’little white’ lie. What does that even mean?
The 9th commandment, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour” [Exodus 20:16], teaches we shouldn’t lie in court! Later, this is amplified by Yahweh when He says, “You shall not…lie to one another” [Leviticus 19:11]. This puts lying firmly into the category of forbidden sin! King Solomon wrote that Yahweh “detests lying lips but he delights in those who tell the truth” [Proverbs 12:22]. “So stop telling lies,” wrote the apostle Paul [Ephesians 4:25, New Living Translation]. Lying is sin.
Yahweh never quantifies sin; there are no ‘degrees’ of wickedness. When speaking about the Holy Spirit, Yahshua said, “When he comes, he will convict the world about sin” [John 16:8]. “Conscience may convict of sins, acts of sin,” writes Oswald Sanders, “but it is of sin in the singular that the Holy Spirit convicts.” Does the Holy Spirit convict you about ‘little white lies’? I believe He does! You see any sin is sin!
The most sobering word about lying was spoken by our exalted Saviour. “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur” [Revelation 21:8, italics mine; New Living Translation]. There are no grades or measures here - the final judgement will be simply about sin!
It's never too soon or too late to take a long, hard look at oneself and make adjustments! It’s the sensible option!
Photo by Taras Chernus on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/man-in-gray-hoodie-with-red-heart-on-his-head-Yhc3SDYY678
Make Up Your Mind TimeClick to see the whole passage:
Matthew 11:16-17 NIV - “To what can I compare this - Bible Gateway
if you have any inclination at all to embrace [Yahshua], yield to it.
Isaac Butterworth
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