Truth is Like a Lion

A young boy was the key witness in an important lawsuit. The attorney had put the boy through a rigorous cross-examination and had been unable to shake his concise, damaging testimony. He had given clear answers to all questions.

In a stern voice, the attorney asked, “Your father has been telling you how to testify, hasn’t he?”

“Yes,” said the boy.

“Now,” said the attorney with smug satisfaction, “just tell us what your father told you to say.”

“Well,” replied the boy, “My father told me that the lawyers may try to tangle me, but if I would just be careful and tell the truth, I could say the same thing every time.”

Truth is a wonderful and precious commodity in these days. Statistics show that 92% of Americans speak a lie at least once a day.

Let’s all strive to be persons of truth and integrity – it will make our community and our world a better place!

Two of my favorite truth quotes are:

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” – Jesus, John 8:32

And … The Apostle Paul states, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.” – 1 Corinthians 13:6

God is truth. When we tell the truth, we live as God wants us to live and as God has commanded us to live. “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.” Or “You shall not lie.”– Exodus 20:16

When we lie, we go against what God expects of us, and we disobey His Commandments. Often people lie because they are concerned about getting in trouble or perhaps they fear that by telling the truth they will hurt someone. But we lose our integrity when we lie. We hurt ourselves, and we hurt others.

We lose our integrity not only in the eyes of others but also in the eyes of God. Lying diminishes our relationships with others and destroys trust.

Think about how the world would be different if no one ever lied. At first it is a scary thought. After all, if we didn’t lie people would get hurt right? For example, you might hurt your relationship with your best friend if you told him or her that you couldn’t stand a certain character trait of theirs. Or you may have to pay a bit higher taxes if you told your accountant about a particular gift or inheritance you didn’t want to declare on your income statement. Yet, not being able to lie might teach us to be more tactful with our friends or more honest about our business affairs.

We must learn the skills that will help us be honest in all of our relationships. If we want to be people of integrity and honesty, we have to overcome the temptation to lie. It can be frustrating at times and fear is the biggest emotion we must overcome when we face the temptation or desire to lie. Yet we must always keep in our hearts and minds that there is a way to tell the truth that is good, right and wholesome!

How can we live as people of truth?

Think first.

Sometimes we lie so we can give a quick answer to someone. Before you speak or answer a question, take a deep breath and pray about how you can say the truth in a tactful way. Sometimes you don’t need to say anything at all.

Keep It Real

Lies aren’t always full untruths. Sometimes we exaggerate or stretch the truth. Exaggerating or stretching the truth is also lying. We often do it to make ourselves look better. But is it worth it? Be authentic. Be real. People are usually very impressed with people they can always trust to tell the truth no matter what.

Set things right

We have all given in to the temptation to tell a lie or exaggerate. If you have or if you do in the future, pray about and look for the opportunity to make it right and tell the truth. It will be uncomfortable but telling the truth will set you free to be who God created you to be. You will experience a freedom that comes from being a person of integrity who speaks the truth.

Determine today that you will be a person who always speaks truth. I will close with two more of my favorite quotes about truth:

“Speak the truth in love.” – Paul, Ephesians 4:15

“Truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.” – Saint Augustine

Always speak truth!

Dr. Lester Spencer

Lead Pastor

Saint James Church