How Do You Respond to Lies? (Part 2)

There have been times in my life when I felt that I was suddenly dropped into opposite world. Conversations and events that I was a part of, along with others, were completely turned around. The actions or words that were falsely attributed to me were the very actions or words of those who were repeating the matter in a false way. Some of these situations were harder to take when other individuals, who had been present in the original situation, for fear or perhaps lack of character, began agreeing with the liars. Then, there were those who believed the lie without doing any due diligence by coming to me to seek out the truth.

We used to live in a society of innocent until proven guilty. However, that is no longer the case. All it takes is for a few people to make disparaging remarks or attribute actions that were not committed by the individual and someone’s reputation, business, ministry, or family is damaged. We are more willing to believe the bad about people than we are to believe the good.

In Part 1 of this series, we learned what the Bible says about liars. We now will examine what the Bible says our response to lies should be.

First, anyone who hears disparaging remarks about someone has a biblical responsibility. That responsibility is thoroughly covered in the blog post, Protecting Yourself from Being an Unknowing Gossip. 

Additionally, we must follow biblical principles regarding lying.

**Hate lies; love truth.

• Psalm 119:104, Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

• Psalm 119:128, Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

**Focus our hearts on seeking truth.

• Philippians 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

• Proverbs 4:23, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 

**Remove liars from your life. In other words, run; run far away from a liar.

• Psalm 101:7, He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.

• Proverbs 4:24, Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

• Proverbs 17:4, A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

**Do not allow yourself to become entwined in falsehoods or situations in which someone is destroying the life, reputation, business, or ministry of another. 

• Exodus 23:7, Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

But, what if I am the victim of lies?

We have excellent examples to follow in God’s Word when we are faced with the trial of lies.

**Jesus, Himself, was falsely accused, yet He answered not.

• Matthew 27:12, And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

**Stephen, in the budding church in Acts, is another example. The disciples appointed Stephen, along with six other men, to be the first deacons. Acts 6:8, And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Nevertheless, men of the synagogue disputed with Stephen and could not overcome his wisdom and spirit. (Acts 6:9-10) These men stirred up the people against Stephen. The word “suborned” in verse 11 means they bribed men to lie. 

• Acts 6:11, 13, Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. 13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: 

Instead of defending himself when allowed to speak, Stephen presents salvation through the history of the Jewish people. (Acts 7:1-53) Despite cutting through to their hearts (conviction), they turned on him, took him out, and stoned him. Sometimes, we may suffer wrongs when we serve our Savior.

**King David is a prime Old Testament example of facing liars. From King Saul to his own son, Absalom, David was lied about and had many conspirators against him. When King Saul came after him, David was careful not to touch God’s anointed. King Saul may not have been following God, but David knew it was not his place to correct or address him. When Absalom stole the hearts of the people away from King David, David stepped aside, leaving his position as king in the hands of God. Throughout Psalms, we see David pray for those who lied, focus on the Lord, and leave the outcome of judgment in the Lord’s hands.

• Psalm 63:9-11, But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. ¹⁰ They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

It is difficult when we are being lied about, having errant rumors spread about us, and having our names and reputations tarnished, at the very least. However, Jesus tells us how to handle these situations.

Matthew 5:11-12  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

When we decide to take a stand to do right, to follow the Lord and His Word, will and way, we will suffer wrongs for His sake. Remember, God is our defense. He will protect us and judge those who insist on remaining in wickedness, often catching them in their own web of lies.

Psalm 5:9-12  For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. ¹⁰ Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. ¹¹ But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. ¹² For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

For the rest of this series, follow the links below:

What Does the Bible Say about Lying? (Part 1) 

Who is Really Hurt by Lying? (Part 3) 

Who Really is Hurt by Lying? (Part 3)

If you are the victim of lies, then you know the damage that is done to you. Tarnished reputations, loss of business or finances, and, in some cases, alienation from those who you consider family and friends are just a few of the repercussions for the victim.

If you are the liar, you may think that you are innocent. Prolific liars often convince themselves that what they are saying is true; in fact, they become so good at it that they can take the truth and twist and turn it to make it say whatever they want it to say even to the point of creating false documents or photos with just the click of a few computer buttons. While they think they are getting away with something, all they have succeeded in doing is making themselves untrustworthy.

However, a great damage is done when “Christians” or church members lie. We, the church, have a serious problem on our hands.

If you have followed our ministry at all, or read other of my posts, you may have caught that we deal with the worst of the worst in church situations. When Dan’s phone rings, it is often because the pastor and/or church have come to a breaking point. All too often in the last decade or so, the trouble is with the tongue of someone in the church.

I am not exactly sure when it occurred, but the church went through a beautification program on the word “lying”. We now call it “gossip”. Rarely do we hear it preached against. Nonetheless, the world has been and is watching. I know this. How? Because one of the things we do is to talk to the locals to gain an understanding of the community thought regarding the distraught church. You see, once a church has lost its testimony, it becomes ineffective.

How is a church’s testimony damaged? Through the actions and words of the church members. Many of the situations we have dealt with were in small towns. Often, it is after the church has gone through a battle that we learned the truth. It never is good for the church members.

In several situations, we had been inviting those in the community to particular churches. It was after a church blow up in each church that we learned why those individuals would not visit for a fall festival or other such outreach or services. Here are just a few of the statements we heard.

• “Now that all this has happened, we just wanted you to know that we didn’t visit because so-and-so attended there. All they do is run down the church they attend. I didn’t want to say anything because I was afraid of stirring up trouble.”

• “I didn’t visit because several of the members there have done me wrong in business. I can’t trust them.”

• “I didn’t visit because so-and-so works for me. I knew he went to church there and he was one of the worst employees I have.”

• “I couldn’t understand how you could go to that church. The people (listing several names) are nothing but troublemakers in the office, school, or community. They are always running their mouths.”

 What a tremendous testimony these churches had!! (read dripping with sarcasm)

It still strikes me that these unsaved men and women have more scruples about them than the “Christians” who are supposed to be living a life exemplifying Christ.

Unfortunately, those that these statements were made about were the very ones who caused the blow-ups in the churches. These were the ones to set themselves up in leadership in the power vacuum following the blow-ups. These were the ones who had purported themselves for years to be something they were not. These men and women had so described themselves as “somebodies” in the communities in which they lived that the pastors were concerned of losing people if they addressed their sin issues; the pastors feared the bad things they might say about them or the church. (This should have been the first clue there was a problem.) What these pastors did not know was that they were losing far more people who refused even to visit the church because of these people. They were known to be members there, and not in a good way.

Sadly, those churches, as others like them, are a stumbling block to the cause of Christ in those communities. They have caused a hardness that others are now having to combat. It has caused ripple effects into other churches as well as these liars have emboldened others to assume power and position that is not theirs biblically to have.

I keep hearing people use this catch phrase: The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. Why would a sinner want to attend a church to seek help for their sin-sick soul when members of the church have no discretion in repeating everyone else’s problems? We have HIPAA laws to protect our medical privacy. Do we really need those in the church as well? It sends a signal to those hurting and needing help that the church cannot be trusted.

Then, we have church against church, and pastor against pastor tearing one another down. Is it any wonder that the world has a serious distrust of religion and those who supposedly represent it?

There has been a breach of trust. Once trust is broken, it is extremely difficult to repair. In taking counseling classes, we learned that for every negative a person experiences, it takes anywhere from 5 to 20 positives to overcome it; to rebuild that trust. Lying, gossiping, talebearing, telling a little white lie… whatever it is called must be stopped. And, it must be addressed in the home and in the church. We do not know the time that the Lord will return, so we must live each day as if it were today. How wonderful to be speaking to a lost and dying world of our Heavenly Father when Christ returns rather than tearing down a fellow brother or sister in Christ.

We need to be ever so careful with our words and our actions. We are not alone in this world. We, as Christians, are here to be a light. That light is snuffed out each time Christians run their mouths about others. Believe it or not, the world does expect us to act in accordance with the Bible that we claim to follow.


For more in this series, follow the links below:

What Does the Bible Say about Lying? (Part 1)

How Do You Respond to Lies? (Part 2) 

What Does the Bible Say about Lying? (Part 1)

What exactly is a lie? Webster’s Dictionary provides several definitions. As a verb, a lie is to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive or to create a false or misleading impression. As a noun, a lie is an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue with intent to deceive, an untrue or inaccurate statement that may or may not be believed true by the speaker, or something that misleads or deceives.

We see the following words often today to describe a lie: a white lie, gossip, a fib or ‘fiblet’, a tall story or tall tale, a misstatement, a misrepresentation, disinformation, a whopper. Innocuous, aren’t they? More shocking are the words: slander, libel, defamation, perjury, backbiting, dishonesty, deceit, fraud. We do not hear these words much any longer to describe a lie, as they are deemed too harsh.

Proverbs 12:17  He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

Why would someone lie? Here are a few possibilities.

1. Self-preservation. In other words, liars attempt to protect themselves from punishment for wrongdoing.
2. Jealousy. Liars simply want to discredit or hurt the innocent because of jealousy over accomplishments or abilities.
3. Fear. Often, liars fear the lack of or the potential loss of a position or popularity. In order to achieve or “protect” themselves, they will do whatever it takes to discredit anyone they fear may gain more popularity or position than they currently have.
4. To gain some perceived advantage. We see this during political campaigns with mud-slinging commercials and “news” articles. However, this has crept into business practices as well; cases are being revealed of false “reviews” of businesses and restaurants in order to hurt the competition or false positive "reviews" in order to gain business. It also occurs in the office and church setting as liars hope to gain a promotion, position or recognition. 
5. Bullying. Some use lying to control and manipulate others in order to accomplish their own desires or agenda.

Proverbs 25:18  A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Isaiah 32:6  For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

Today, we seem to expect to be lied to; we do nothing to combat it. In fact, in some countries, it is culturally accepted to lie. God, however, does not see it that way. The Bible has a great deal to say about lying. Our first reference to lying, or deception, is in the story of Eve and the serpent. First references in scripture are very important. Here is the conversation.

Serpent: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) (He caused Eve to question what God said, the truth.)

Eve: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Genesis 3:2-3) (As Eve related what God said, she added to the truth. Here is what God actually said: ¹⁶ And the Lord   God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

Serpent: “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) (The serpent took God’s word, which Eve had added to, and discredited it. He told Eve that she was being kept away from something; he created a desire in her for something she was not supposed to have.) 

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6)

This first reference encompasses all there is in deception and lies. Truth is questioned; truth is added to (think of the telephone game); truth is replaced with reasoning (if this, then that); truth is sacrificed for one’s own desires.

Jacob, the Deceiver, stole the blessing from his brother Esau. (Genesis 27:1-29) His Uncle Laban later deceived Jacob over working for Rachel for seven years but giving Jacob Leah instead at the end of that time. (Genesis 29:15-30) Laban also deceived Jacob in his wages ten times over the years. (Genesis 31:7)

When God gave Moses the Law, He addressed lying, deception, tale bearing, and false witnesses multiple times.

Exodus 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exodus 23:1  Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Exodus 23:7  Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

Leviticus 6:5  Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. (See all of Leviticus 6:2-6)

Leviticus 19:11  Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

Leviticus 19:12  And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:20  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Deuteronomy 19:16-19  ¹⁶ If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; ¹⁷ Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; ¹⁸ And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; ¹⁹ Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

Perhaps, however, the greatest indication of God’s thoughts regarding lying and deception are found in Proverbs.

Proverbs 6:16-19  ¹⁶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, ¹⁹ A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

God will not tolerate lying. We may try to gloss over it, thinking that it is not a big deal. Judgment of the liar may not be swift, to our minds at least, but judgment will come. Just as when you lied to your parents your lies eventually were exposed, you then received the punishment, not only for the original infraction but also for the lie. Our all-seeing, all-knowing Heavenly Father will enact judgment. How can we know this? Because of His Word.

Psalm 5:6  Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing [lying]: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. 

Proverbs 19:5  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

Proverbs 19:9  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

Proverbs 21:28  A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.

Proverbs 26:27  Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

For more in this series, follow the links below:

How Do You Respond to Lies? (Part 2)

Who Really is Hurt by Lying? (Part 3)