Israelites are described at the end time as people whose "lips have spoken lies, [and whose] tongue has muttered perversity" (Isaiah 59:3). In the next verse, Isaiah continues, "No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies." He concludes in verse 15, "So truth fails."

We could mention high-pressure salesman, marketing companies, and more, as well as politicians who promise the moon to get what they want. None of these ever deliver. The sad thing is that we just take such deceit for granted as a way of life. This is just the way things are, and so we live with it. Lying has become so normal that we expect it, and everyone else expects us to go along with it.

Worse, because it is ubiquitous and seemingly no big thing to the world, we can slip into the mode of living with it and even unconsciously participate in it. As God's people, we must constantly guard ourselves so that we never take the truth so lightly.

God clearly condemns lying in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16). I Timothy 1:9-10 ranks liars and perjurers among the worst of men. "A lying tongue" is second on the list of seven things that God hates (Proverbs 6:17), and "a false witness who speaks lies" is number six. Conversely, one who "speaks the truth in his heart" and who even "swears to his own hurt and does not change" will dwell on God's holy hill (Psalm 15:2, 4).

Have we ever wondered what it would be like if God lied? Could we have any faith at all in a God who lied? Could we count on any hope of a positive future? Could we be sure of anything at all? He would be just as unreliable as any man!

We need to consider the source of lying, Satan the Devil (John 8:44). Prior to Satan, lies never existed. Everything was done in total honesty, purity of heart, and truth. The concept of deceit had never even been considered until Satan came on the scene and introduced it. Why did he promote it? He wanted to cause confusion, division, rebellion, and heartache and to lead the people of God into sin. His pattern all along is to destroy all that God is doing.

When we lie, even a small lie, Jesus says that we are of our father the Devil, that is, we take on this proclivity of his and imitate him. In what environment is Satan's influence most likely to affect us? Like him, we are most likely to lie when we want an advantage or when our pride is at stake, for instance, when we want to appear superior in mind or ability than what we actually are or when we desire to cover up a defect in ourselves or our merchandise. We will lie to create a false impression by leaving something out that should be told.

Because the world around us lives this way, it can be so easy to fall into the evil habit of shading, obscuring, or omitting the truth to put ourselves in a good light. We should not do this for any reason. Paul urges us in Ephesians 4:25, "Therefore putting away lying, 'Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,' for we are members of one another." In other words, stop lying so we can trust each other and be united in the truth.

Does the fact that we are always to tell the truth mean we are to answer every question? Of course not. Some things are no one else's business. Some things can and should be private.

Must we tell all we know? No. At times, not answering is the correct tack to take, and at other times, a simple answer may be all that is required. We must discern whether our withholding of information comes from a selfish desire to deceive, exalting or benefitting ourselves in the process.

We who have been raised in a deceived and deceiving culture are so inundated with the practice of lying that we find it difficult to conceive of a time when only truth will be spoken, and all will live by it. Revelation 22:14-15 tells us that those who love and practice lying will not even be in the Kingdom of God. But that totally truthful, godly society is what we represent as lights in this world (Matthew 5:14). So one who tells the truth and keeps his word will not soon be forgotten.

As children of God, we need to make it a priority to stop and consider before we speak to repudiate the way of Satan and bear the image of God before the world.