Why do we lie?

If you’re a parent, you almost certainly have had to talk to your kids about dishonesty, to teach them the danger and wrongness of telling lies. Likely the speech that’s given is the same one we heard when we were kids, and the same one our parents heard, and so on. Because of that, we maybe have never stopped to consider the root cause of dishonesty.

Why do we lie? I think there are a handful of reasons we can point to…

1. We’re afraid of repercussions
2. We’re trying to hide a wrongdoing
3. We enjoy manipulating people
4. We’re compelled by insecurities to exaggerate or boast
5. We forget the past and make up what we don’t recall in order to fill in the gaps
6. We fail to accomplish what we promised

I’ve probably left out a few other reasons, but chances are if someone is lying their motivations boil down to at least one of the reasons listed above. Some people lie because they hope to get out of a punishment coming their way. Some people lie because they get a thrill out of convincing someone of an untruth (even a minor, inconsequential one), knowing they have pulled a fast one. Some lie because they lack a respect for themselves and feel the need to boast beyond the boundaries of honest. And some lie by making promises they don’t intend to keep.

Now for the twist:

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
(Titus 1:2)
According to the Apostle Paul, God cannot lie. Note, he didn’t say God “won’t” lie; he said God is incapable of lying. That might be an odd thing to hear, because most are quick to assume that God can do anything. As a matter of fact, that’s not true: God cannot do some things.

God cannot be tempted with evil (James 1:13). God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). And, as we see here, God cannot lie.

Why not?

To answer that, consider once more the common reasons that people lie…

1. We’re afraid of repercussions
2. We’re trying to hide a wrongdoing
3. We enjoy manipulating people
4. We’re compelled to exaggerate to boast
5. We forget the past and make up what we don’t recall in order to fill in the gaps
6. We fail to accomplish what we promised

Now try and apply those reasons to God. You can’t…

1. God can’t be spanked
2. God never does wrong
3. God takes pleasure in blessing not hurting
4. God has no need to exaggerate
5. God remembers perfectly
6. God never fails

So not only does God have no reason to lie, He would have to deliberately go out of His way to lie. To be a liar, He would have to make Himself stop being perfect. A liar is by definition not reliable, consistent, or constant. God, however, must be all those things. He never makes a promise He can’t or won’t keep, so He always keeps His word. For Him to cease being “constant” is impossible, thus God “cannot” lie, because He will always be reliable.

Take comfort in that.

~ Matthew