Jesus calls us to be people who are so known for telling the truth that we do not need to take an oath or swear by anything. Even though we know not to lie, we do it anyway. Our motives may be understandable or even good—and there are extreme cases where lying may indeed be the right choice—but our lies too often reflect a lack of faith and trust.

When we lie, we put our selves in God’s place as the Author of Truth. This task is not something we can bear, and we aren’t meant to. It belongs to God alone. When we lie, we align ourselves with the devil’s purposes and character. We don’t belong to him anymore because now we belong to Jesus. To recognize and believe in the truth, we have to be doers of the truth and tellers of the truth (lovingly; Ephesians 4).

The good news is that God makes this possible and even helps us do it. Telling the truth is something for the Christian to be proud of. Every time we resist that urge to lie out of convenience and every time we repent of a lie we rationalize to ourselves, we are allowing the Spirit of Truth in us to do his work by sanctifying us and drawing us closer to Jesus, who saves us.

Taking it Home: When have you avoided or misrepresented the truth? What could you do differently?