Tell the truth

[notice]A monthly column by farmer, preacher and writer  for Jesus, Angus Buchan[/notice]

There is no such thing as a white lie.  A lie is an untruth.  In John 17:17 (NKJV) the Word of God says, “sanctify them (purify them) by Your truth. Your word is truth”.  If you need to gage whether you are speaking the truth or not, a good place to test it, is in the Bible.  God is the Word.

Unfortunately, lies always get exposed and the old saying goes like this, if you are going to tell a lie, you had better have a good “memory”, because you are going to have to remember all the lies that you have told, because one lie will lead to another and eventually you will get yourself completely tied up and you will be exposed. It is no coincidence that when we go to court the judge makes us put our right hand on the Bible and tells us to promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

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Don’t exaggerate
Remember exaggerations are a form of lies and we need to be very careful that we do not exaggerate. That is an area that I continually work on in my own life.  My dear old Dad used to say, whatever Angus tells you, cut it by half and that is about the truth, but when we grow up it is no longer a joke. 

Lies can get us into deep trouble. I remember a clear example of this with the former President of the United States of America, President Richard Nixon who was rated as having the possibility of becoming one of the greatest Presidents ever, but it was lies that sunk him.  The Watergate scandal was bad enough but the issue that got him thrown out of the Presidency was not so much the “Watergate scandal” as, it was the lies that he told to try and cover up the incident. 

If you want to lose the confidence of your workers in business, or on the farm, than tell them a lie and once that lie is exposed, (as it always is), you will find it very hard for them to trust you after that.  The same thing applies when you have an employer who promises you something and does not come up with it  — that means he has told you a lie and will undermine his authority greatly.  If you have made a mistake rather just own up and confess it. 

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That is why that scripture in 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) is so powerful, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” and by the same token, the Lord has told us clearly in John 8:32(NKJV), “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. 

Speaking the truth brings a freedom
Once you speak the truth, there is a freedom that goes with it.  When you start to tell lies, you can become a compulsive liar and than everything you say becomes a lie, or an exaggeration. This can eventually undermine you and your business. 

Probably the worst place that telling lies will affect you, will be in your own home and even in your marriage.  If you tell your spouse a lie, it could probably be the quickest thing to lead to an eventual divorce. If you have made a mistake, tell the truth straight away than ask for forgiveness and move on. 

It is like that proverbial boil on your arm which you keep putting a plaster on but there comes a time when it’s got to be exposed, you have got to lance it with a scalpel so that the infection can come out, and healing can take place. So once we tell the truth, then healing takes place.  Be honest and transparent with one another and you will find that you will be more successful in life, and most of all you will have much more joy and peace in your walk with God.