What is Lying?
Lying is a deliberate attempt to deceive by using some form of falsehood. By words, gestures, “adjusting” circumstances, or silence, it is possible to try to persuade others into a different reality from what we know to be true. A lie, as it is officially defined, is an assertion contrary to the truth with the intention of misleading another. A lie is “making a false statement with intent to deceive.” A lie is an apparent and dangerous “ally” in life that can turn us into sick and deranged persons – pathological liars and fraudsters.
Small and seemingly petty lies always lead to a bigger problem, just like any other vice. By consciously engaging in any form of lies, we become people of lies. Lying leads to feelings of guilt, leads to behavioral changes, permanently damages the brain, and adversely affects healthy reasoning skills, produces spiritual blindness, and corrupts character. Even a small lie can cost you dearly, spoil the relationship, influence the (bad) choice. If you consent to lies, your own or others’, you will be an easy victim of all possible deception and subject to manipulation. You will actually become a soldier of lies.
Not only does sinful humanity see falsehood as a means of pursuing deceptive ends, it is also provoked by lies and fascinated by lies. The lack of true intrinsic quality is most easily offset by outward false gloss and glamor. In this way, deception becomes acceptable to the bodily senses. Fascinated senses do not allow reason to “interfere”.
What Happens To Our Brain When We Lie?
Cognitive discomfort describes the discomfort you feel when you hold two or more conflicting thoughts in your brain. Lying requires a lot of effort, while the truth is simple and natural. Lying charges a tax on our brain, causes stress and harms our body. True, when revealed, it can represent a painful awakening from a world of lies, but it hurts only once, while a lie hurts all its life. Lie also burdens us with unnecessary secrets and mysteries that quietly but surely ruin our lives.
The “white lie” is a false statement, but is usually considered irrelevant because it does not conceal serious misconduct. The white lie is deceptive, but it can also be “polite” or “diplomatic” at the same time. It can be a “fake lie” to preserve peace in certain relationships; it may also be a “useful lie” to help someone else; it can also be a “little lie” to make someone look better in a certain area …
What Is the Stance of The Holy Bible About Lying?
“Do not steal or cheat, and do not be dishonest to your neighbor. Do not swear by my name when telling a lie, so that you do not defile the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not deceive your neighbor and do not take away others. ”(Genesis 19: 11-13)
“Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.” (James 15:12)
Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14: 6) He never uttered or used a lie while living as a man on earth, with a nature like ours (1 Peter 2:22). This is the strongest argument against the claim that we are sometimes forced to tell lies. Nor can the excuse for using lies be biblical figures who, in certain circumstances, have succumbed to that temptation.
Who Can Be Considered as a Liar?
- A person who simulates illness to avoid work is lying. An executive who orders his secretary to “cover” him and says that he is absent when he is not lying and compels another person to lie.
- An entrepreneur who submits inaccurate financial statements or tax returns is lying. A person who forges his or her achievements or age is lying.
- A person who conceals or magnifies facts is lying. The person who incorrectly describes the goods he sells is lying.
- A person who bears false testimony against another is lying. He who lies in court is guilty of the crime of perjury, etc.
We live in a society that causes and drives us to lie and teaches us that lies are justified in many situations.
Sometimes telling the truth is not easy; in fact it can be very uncomfortable. But we are called as bearers of truth. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth. Faithfulness is joy to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22); it shows that we have awe for God. Moreover, speaking the truth is not a suggestion, it is a warrant (Psalm 15: 2; Zechariah 8:16; Ephesians 4:25). Satan is the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and so is the father of “white lies” (Genesis 3: 4). The whole concept of Satanism is actually based on a mixture of truth and lies. The rebellion against God began through self-deception and deception.
Truthfulness glorifies the Lord who is the “God of truth” (Psalm 31: 5). The truth frees God (John 8:32).