For the month of July, our churches are praying from Psalm 119:163, “I hate and abhor lying.” But how can a Christian pray from those few words? Especially, if you think of yourself as a generally honest person?
We love lies when…
- We speak falsely about events.
“I bought those shoes for $10!” (It really was a good deal, but you paid $25.)
“Oh, I didn’t see you.” (Spoken to an acquaintance you had seen in a store but did not want to greet.)
This is probably the most common thought that we have of what a “lie” is. - We allow, foster, and cultivate false views of ourselves.
“I don’t have many things to confess.” (How can someone sold under sin not have much to confess?)
The pictures used in Scripture are heavy, and it is a lie to act or talk as if those do not apply to me–a slave, a dog, and a sinner. False views of ourselves prompted Elihu to pray, “That which I see not, teach thou me.” - We reach negative conclusions about someone with very little evidence.
- We remember incorrectly in order to appear more clever, more to be pitied, more authoritative, or more self-denying.
“I’ve probably read the Bible through 10 times or more.” (In reality, perhaps you read it through 2 times completely, 4 times in the New Testament, and then returned again and again to the Psalms.)
“My husband doesn’t help.” (Maybe he helps commonly, but that one time when you were having an especially bad day, he ignored you.) - We soften sins that we might be implicated in.
“The movies I enjoy are honest about this sinful world.” (Perhaps, the Lord Jesus is ashamed of that entertainment, and you know it.)
“The comforts of this life should be enjoyed.” (Said by a man who spends far more on personal comfort, and only rarely invests in churchplanting.) - We stay in a false religion.
Every Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, animist, and atheist loves the lies of their religion. - We assume most people are saved.
“Many, I tell you, will seek to enter [the gate to Heaven] and will not be able.” Luke 13:24
“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.” Luke 17:24
“When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
“You [few believers] will be hated by all [the world] because of My name.” Luke 21:17 - We sound like the world on man, woman, or sexuality.
“My relative is a lesbian, but she really loves God.”
“God would want me to show love by supporting these two men at their wedding.”
“Men are no better at leading than women.” - We refuse to acknowledge the truth about our children, or we quietly hope better for them than the plain words of Scripture.
Do you raise your children as if they are spiritually lost, dead, and in Satan’s family? - We try to solve spiritual problems with physical solutions.
“Our son has anger issues, but this medication has been doing so much.” Why would you think pills can do what Paul prescribed repentance for (Col. 3:8)? - We neglect to build our lives and our investments on the truths of the future home the Son is preparing and the eternal, conscious torment of the damned.
The final end of the world is permanent and terrifying. To the degree that your life is controlled by some other reality, you are controlled by a lie.
