“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds…” Colossians 3:9

The Lie

I told a lie today. To be sure, it didn’t hurt anybody; in fact, I told it to protect somebody. Someone asked me a question and I had the answer, but I knew I needed to keep the information private, so I said I didn’t know.

Just a teensy lie… to protect someone… and it wasn’t my story to tell in the first place… and this person shouldn’t have asked for this information… and I feared once this person knew that I was privy to certain information, they would continue to ask more questions that I also should not answer…but no one got hurt, after all…

How easy it is to excuse ourselves! Our faithful God spoke quietly in my ear later in the day (or at least that’s when I finally listened to Him.) He said, “Why don’t you trust Me?” Oh! I do, Lord! I do trust You! Why, I’ve trusted You all these years, through thick and thin!

But Adam and Eve floated around in my head. Two people in a perfect world who did not trust God. His “don’t” wasn’t enough for them. His presence wasn’t enough for them. They didn’t trust Him to tell them the truth. They wanted what they’d been denied, because then… then… their eyes would be opened! They’d really know things if God hadn’t denied this one thing.

I repented for not trusting God. If I had trusted God, I would told the truth without lying, and left the outcome in His hands. When I lie instead of tell the truth, I take the situation out of God’s hands and put it in my own. I become the caretaker of the situation, the decider of outcomes, the defender of my reputation in the eyes of man.

I could have told the truth. I could have said, “Now, you know I can’t tell confidential things.” Or, “They will talk about it when they’re ready.” There—it would have been the whole truth, though I admit I remembered the times I’ve been told effectively to mind my own business, and I know it hurts (even when I should have minded my own business.)

Trusting Him means we do what He’s asked us to do, without regard to how our words are received, without regard to our reputation, without considering whether we will be perceived as a nice person. I trust Him to take care of me when I walk in obedience to His Word. I can say what needs to be said in a kind way… and I can and should tell the truth while I say it.

“Lord, forgive us for excusing our sin. By the prompting of Your Spirit, may we always be ready to tell the truth—in a kind, gentle way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”