Love IS BEING HONEST
Jacob went through a stage of telling lies when he was about 3. He worked out that if he told a lie and it went undetected, then it could get him out of time out and all kinds of lectures! When he was caught out in a lie it didn’t seem to bother him because he didn’t understand about how important trust is, how lying breaks the trust and it takes a long time to rebuild it back again.
Bible Passage: Exodus 20:16
“Do not tell lies about others.”
The first lie in the Bible:
Bible Passage: Genesis 3:2-4
“The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.”
What do you think?
2 TRUTHS AND A LIE
I lived in London for a year, waiting tables in a restaurant
I have a golden retriever named Tilly who is 5 years old
Our whole family hasn’t eaten sugar for over 5 years, including lollies
Which one is the lie?
2 TRUTHS AND A LIE
I came 1st in a snow skiing race with ski-school when I was 9 and beat my older sister.
When I was in primary school I was really shy and hardly talked to anyone but my family and close school friends.
I exercised as much as I could and have played hockey all my life and still do.
Which one is the lie?
Bible Passage: Colossians 3:9
“Stop lying to each other.”
The opposite of being a liar is being honest. Honest people are trustworthy people. You can rely on them to do what they saw they are going to do.
People who lie are untrustworthy. You can’t count on them. You can’t rely on them. You can’t believe what they say ever, because they could be lying, you just can never tell.
Why is being trustworthy so important?
Story Time!
I know a man named Tony who is a carpenter. He is pretty good at building and arrives on time, but sometimes tools go missing when Tony is around. His boss found his drill in Tony's ute and asked him about it. “Oh not sure how that got there!” Tony said. Do you believe him? Why not? His boss gives him the benefit of the doubt as he’s never done anything like that before, but he stores the information away in the back of his brain.
Tony called in sick for work the next Monday, but then his boss drove past him and saw that he was out for lunch with friends. This was not the actions of someone too sick to work. He was caught out! The trust was broken.
When another lost tool of the bosses was found in Tony's ute, the boss did not believe it was an accident. Tony had shown himself to be a liar and untrustworthy.
Every time Tony said something, the boss wasn’t sure if it was accurate or not. As a carpenter, he was often working alone on building sites. This means he needed to be trustworthy.
He told the boss that he had worked on hanging the door all day, but was that true? Did he leave early? Did he work slowly? Did he start late? If his boss can’t trust him, then he will need to be always checking, always doubting, always watching. This is not the kind of person any boss wants on their team!
Bible Passage: Proverbs 12:19, 22
“Truth will last forever;
lies are soon found out.
The Lord hates every liar,
but he is the friend of all
who can be trusted.”
Hate is a very strong word and I try to make sure my family only use the word when it necessitates it, when you really do actually loath something. God HATES it when we lie. Remember that it is not just the one instance of lying that he hates, but the sneaky, tricky behaviour that comes with it.
Be honest. It is the loving thing to do.
Question Time!
Why is it important to be honest?
Are you an honest and trustworthy person? Why/why not?
