The Lies We Tell

By

Pastor B.J. Knefley

We tell lies, or do we? If you say that you’ve never told a lie, then you are fooling yourself and others. We all have lied. Some overtly and others covertly, but we all have done it. Sometimes it’s a straightforward out-and-out lie while others are with deception and sleight-of-hand trickery. With our words, body language, and other methods we convince people that what they think we have done we have not. We are as innocent as a babe or a dove and wouldn’t hurt anyone with such behavior. Honestly!

Someone once asked me why they lied after having been caught in a lie. They knew better; they knew they were wrong even before the words were out of their mouth, so why did they do it? Many have found themselves in that place, so why do we lie when we know better? The simple answer is that we’re trying to protect our image. Our image of ourselves is already low, and we lie to cover that up. Because we see ourselves as having low value, we struggle with self-esteem and self-worth. Lying is a way of covering up and painting a picture that is more acceptable, easier to look at, or grasp. No one wants to look like a failure, a nobody, or worthless, so we lie.

We lie to cover the truth. Again, it’s to cover up the true picture with one that is fake. We are often very good at it because we’ve practiced it for most of our lives. Sadly, for some, it has become second nature. As the saying goes, if you want to tell how you know certain people are lying you just have to see their lips moving. I have seen people utterly broken with grief and embarrassment after having been caught in a lie. Confession and repentance follow for a time, only to have the same lying behavior return.

Some have learned to lie because the truth that they must live with is so horrendous and tragic that they create a false self. I’ve often described this as the wearing of a mask. Their behavior is motivated by fear, guilt, shame, and other emotions that keep us a prisoner. In the end, I believe that the only thing that will set us free is the truth. Embarking on that path will take courage. Think about it.