One of the biggest problems people have is honesty. Now, very few of us think of ourselves as dishonest. Very few of us would consider ourselves "a liar," yet we all know that, at one time or another, we have lied.

I think there are two traps that people find themselves in. The first is that people find themselves not having an honest heart. They simply feel that lying is not an issue. The second is where people do not believe they are lying in the first place - a little white lie.

Where are you? Do you tell little white lies and think it is OK? Or do you tell lies all the time about everything and you just don't think it is wrong? Both of these are potential destructive patterns. Lies catch up with you every single time! Do you find yourself building more lies each time to cover previous lies you've told? If so, you're headed for a world of heartache! I've come to the point in life where I have decided that all lies are wrong, even those little white lies. Let's look at an example. You are driving down the street and your son asks you “Dad can we stop at xyz store and buy abc toy?” You say “Son, I don’t have any money on me.” The truth is, you wallet is full of cash and credit cards. What have you taught your child? At best nothing. At worst he will see you open your wallet at the next destination and see that you did have money. You’ve just taught your child that lying is acceptable!

So ask yourself about little lies that you have told. Ask yourself why you have told them. Was it actually easier? I doubt it. With the toy example above why not just say “Son, you already have plenty of toys and you don’t need this one.” Or say “Son, we don’t have time to stop.” Or say “Son, if you are really good and save up your allowance we can come back one day next week.” Whatever the real truth is in you instance. When you do this you are instilling multiple core values into your children. First, you are teaching your children through example that you are an honest and good person. Second, you are teaching your children that there are good non-selfish reasons for the decisions that you make. Remember, even though when they are teenagers and won’t admit it, most of your child’s core values and morals are learned from your example. They want to be like you.

Now if you are on the other end of the spectrum and you don’t believe it is wrong to lie then I challenge you to re-evaluate your belief. Does it bother you when people lie to you? If it does then why do you do it to others? Does it cause you to lose friendships or relationships? Does it cause you to change jobs often? Does it keep your children from believing in you?

I would wager that if you are one of these people that lying is just the tip of the iceberg. I find generally that people who lie habitually do so because they are hiding much deeper moral issues. Theft, fraud, or other self serving agendas. These people feel like they can’t become honest people for fear of the rest of the world finding out about all of the other things they are dishonest with. So the spiral continues. More and larger lies must be fabricated to keep the previous lies in check. Eventually, these people reach a point where everyone knows they are dishonest, everyone sees through their lies. However, the person has gone so far down this path they have begin lying to themselves. Sometimes they are not sure if they even remember what the truth really was in the first place. These people are in serious need of help. If you are one of these people, please seek help. Your life can be so much more fulfilled with truth and honesty. I promise you will find that once you start down the path of honesty you will be happier in all areas of your life. The brokenness of friendships will be restored. You will truly be able to experience happiness.

I leave you with this: HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, AND ABODE NOT IN THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE SPEAKETH A LIE, HE SPEAKETH OF HIS OWN: FOR HE IS A LIAR, AND THE FATHER OF IT. AND BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, YE BELIEVE ME NOT. - John 8:44-45