The Poison of lies

Lies-The Destroyer of Your Conscience:

...the tongue... is an unruly evil, FULL OF DEADLY POISON.

James 3:8

One thing I'm sure about is that many Christians do not know the effect that lies have on their lives. This is because lying is probably the commonest sin of all, big lies, small lies, spoken lies, unspoken lies and half-truths are all lies. I once asked a congregation, "How many of you have been involved in the sin of lying?" Almost all the people present raised their hands. People simply do not know the damaging effect of lies on their souls.

The first damaging effect of lies is that it sears your conscience. You see, your conscience is the measuring rod that keeps you in line with God.

Your conscience is the still small voice that tells you when you are wrong. When your conscience is damaged, you no longer have that correcting and refining influence to keep you on the right track.

People with seared consciences are known to have committed terrible crimes against humanity. They are past feeling, and no longer care whom they hurt or offend. A Christian without a good conscience is like a nation without a police force. That Christian will commit greater and greater sins; He will start from 'white' lies to ‘small’ lies and then graduate to 'bigger' lies. From there he may actually begin to indulge in criminal acts.

I once had an encounter with a classic Christian liar who had little or no conscience. Some years ago, our church, the Lighthouse Chapel International used to rent the medical school canteen in Accra for church services. We needed some wooden chairs. And this gentleman was introduced to me as a good Christian carpenter who could do the job.

At the time, I was not experienced in dealing with these artisans. I trusted everybody, especially if they told me they were Christians. We paid this gentleman a large sum of money in advance.

He assured us, “I’ll do a great job for you, and by the way I even did a similar job for another church.” ( I found out later that this was not true.)

Some weeks later when it was time for delivery of the chairs, we went to his house to remind him.

He assured us, “Everything is on schedule and you will have your chairs in a week’s time.”

A week later, he appeared and said, "Listen, I'll need some extra money to complete this chair project in another week or two." Once again, this man was 1ying.

I said, "Alright, we'll give you the extra money you need." I didn't know that this Christian was lying again. We found out later that he had not even begun the project.

A week later, there were still no chairs. So we decided to go to the shop to see for ourselves how far he had progressed with the work. I went along with my good friend, Dr. Nosh.

I said to Dr. Nosh, "Come on, let's go and find out when we are really going to get our chairs."

When we arrived at the shop we were told the carpenter was not in. We decided to look around for ourselves. To our surprise, there was not even a single chair in the shop. We thought we were in the wrong place.

We asked again, "Is this 'Brother X's workshop?"

"Yes it is!" they said, but there were only a few unfinished wardrobes standing around.

When we eventually saw this Christian carpenter we confronted him, "Look, where are our chairs?"

He calmly replied, "Everything is ready. You didn't see any chairs in the shop because I have taken them to a workshop near Pantang Hospital (on the outskirts of Accra) to be dried."

He further explained, "The wood was a bit wet, and needed to be treated and dried specially so that you would have a perfect job. You see, I only want to give you the best." He sounded so sincere, but he was lying. We didn't know then that a Christian could lie so much.

Dr. Nosh asked,” Are you sure?”

He said,” Oh, yes.”

But by this time we had begun to suspect that he was lying. So Dr. Nosh decided to drive all the way outside Accra to check if our chairs were really being dried. I know this brother thought we would never find the time to verify if the chairs were there or not. Lo and behold, when my friend got there, the people had no idea what he was talking about.

We finally realized that we were dealing with a diabolic liar. He had been deceiving us all along, and we were not aware of it.

The church abounds with such Christian liars. Some unbelievers even have a better conscience than some Christians.

Speaking LIES in hypocrisy HAVING THEIR CONSCIENCE SEARED with a hot iron; (1 Timothy 4:2)

LYING-That which Hardens Your heart:

Lying is a dangerous folly, because you gradually believe your own lies. This is self-deception. This leads us to the next damaging effect of a lying tongue – a hardened heart. The Bible calls it deceiving your own self.

...deceiving your own selves. (James 1:22)

From the stage of self-deception, liars graduate into the deadly condition known as hardness of heart.

Harden not your hearts... (Hebrews 3:8)

Many people are invited to church. They sit under the anointing and hear the Word of God, but do not respond or change their lives. Although some people are not born again, they convince themselves that they are Christians. Gradually, they develop the deadly condition known as 'hardness of heart'. This is a stage where God can no longer reach you.

God tried to reach Pharaoh. Indeed, God tried harder than he had tried with any human being I have known under the sun. He tried every method. He sent Moses and Aaron. These were preachers, pastors, prophets and men of God. They were also miracle workers who performed miracles of healing, miracles of supernatural lice, flies and frogs. All this, just to convince one man. God had to kill every first born Egyptian before Pharaoh would listen to reason. By the time God finished trying to convince one man, He had destroyed one nation. In other words, the condition of one man’s heart destroyed the whole nation, and even after God had destroyed the whole nation, Pharaoh was still not fully converted.

It is dangerous to hear the truth and lie to yourself that what you are hearing is not true. You may need some Pharaotic treatment to change your mind. Haven’t you heard the testimonies of so many people who got converted after their chickens died, or after armed robbers attacked them? When you are deceiving yourselves, simple methods of communication no longer work for you. Counseling does not work, preaching doesn't work, teaching doesn't work, and advice doesn't work. What may now work are the 'frogs and flies' of Pharaoh.

Lies - Tools of satan:

The INSTRUMENTS also of the churl [wretch] are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with LYING WORDS... (Isaiah 32:7)

Lies are the instruments the devil uses to work great evil. Lies form an integral part of most wicked and bad things. There is a saying, 'All thieves are liars, all liars are thieves'.

Most wicked activities cannot go on without a lie being told here or there. Dictators for example, cannot suppress entire nations without the propaganda of lies and deception, which they continually perpetrate. Have you not noticed that wicked and undemocratic dictators do not allow a free and an independent press to operate? They desperately need the assistance of diabolical lies to stay in power and oppress the masses. Whenever you speak a lie, what you are actually doing is grasping one of Satan's favorite tools. You are joining hands with the devil, and you are playing his game. Jesus calls him the father of liars.

... for he is a LIAR, and the father of it. (John 8:44)

Evil cannot succeed without the help of lies. Lies are tools in the hand of the enemy. Lies are the weapons of satan. Do not join hands with diabolos - the devil.

Through experience I’ve come to realize that about 90 percent or more of Christians are involved in lying. The Bible is saying that other people's lives are destroyed because of your lies. There are believers who lie as easily as they breathe.

I trust people who speak the truth. No matter what you have done, or the sin you have committed, if you tell the truth you are on your way to receiving help.

In Isaiah 1:18, God says that, come and let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as wool. Though they may be red as crimson, they shall be white as snow. He wipes the slate clean. When you are wrong and you admit it, it changes your situation.

He that covereth his sin shall not prosper… ( Proverbs 28:13 )

Lies - that Which Generates God's Hatred:

These six things doth the LORD hate... a lying tongue... (Proverbs 6:l6,l7)

There are six things the Lord hates, and lying is one of them. He hates lies. Be honest when you discern that you have a problem. Get help while you can. I have done it before. When I was a young Christian I went to see my leaders and pastors to help me when I had a problem.

Be honest with yourself. Correct any lies you may have told. I have had people come back to me to recant their lies. On some occasions I have had some church members tell me, "Pastor, when I came to your office for counseling, I lied to you, but now I want to tell you the truth." God will bless such people. That is the beginning of something new. By God's standards it is always better to speak the truth and face the consequences. What is it that you have to say? Say it. Be bold, and be strong. That is the beginning of your redemption and your spiritual breakthrough. God hates liars so much that He has decided to put them all together in one place - hell. Liars are lined up together with sorcerers, murderers, and abominable people and sent into hell. Most Christians

will not have anything to do with sorcery and witchcraft, but I know many Christians who would very easily tell lies.

...the abominable, and murderers... and sorcerers... and ALL LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone... (Revelation 21:8)

By: Dag Heward-Mills