Have you ever told a white lie or half-truth? #Repent
Did you know that telling half-truth is a lie; it’s sinful and it has consequences? Yes. “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy,” Pr. 12:22.Yesterday I preached in our church about sin, its consequences and how to overcome it. One of the points I shared is that sin manifests in myriad different ways. As I reflect on this, God just mulikad me about the many times I have told white-lies/half-truths in order to protect myself. I don’t know about my readers’ experiences but, I acknowledge and admit that the many times that I have ever told half-truths, I have always had an excuse which made the matter even more complicated and embarrassing.
Well, here’s a case study, uncle Abe. This man! So, in Genesis 12:10-20, uncle lied. Sorry, he told a half-truth about his relationship with Sarah. There was famine in Canaan and so uncle decided to sojourn in Egypt. While entering there, he feared that he’d be killed because of his relationship with Sarah. She was such a beauty even in her 65th birthyear (kuoa msichana mrembo lazma ukae rada!) So he told her to maintain a brother-sister ruse in order to protect himself. So, Pharaoh took Sarah into his harem but then God protected her by plaguing Pharaoh and his household with a great plague, v. 16-17. Years later, uncle Abe was at it again. He lied to King Abimelek that Sarah was his sister, Gen 20:3. But, was he lying really? It was half-truth and half-truth is a lie. Thankfully, God appeared to Abimelek and made it clear that Sarah was a married woman and if he dared lay his hand on her he’d be as good as dead, Gen 20:3-7.
But why uncle Abe? Why did you have to make Pharaoh suffer because of your white lie? Even now you had to put Abimelek’s household in trouble with your God? Thankfully, God kept king Abimelek from committing adultery. Interestingly, he even had to pray for healing of Abimelek’s household from temporal barrenness. Abraham was even lucky that Pharaoh graciously let him keep all that he had acquired in Egypt, although he suffered shameful deportation from Egypt, Gen 12:19.
Was uncle Abe remorseful and repentant about his little lie? Uncle was quite defensive and excused himself. His flawed assessment of people and situations made him justify his white lies. He believed that he’d be killed if the Egyptians knew the beautiful Sarah was his wife, Gen 12:12; He believed there was no fear of God in Gerar, Gen 20:11; besides he successfully proved that indeed Sarah was his half-sister, v. 12 and he even tried to implicate God, that it’s He who made him a wanderer, v.13. Eish!
Dear friend, you might be telling some white lies/ half-truth in order to protect yourself but hear me. It is sin to tell half-truths. The consequences are dire. When you lie, you bring reproach to God’s name; you loose an opportunity for credible witness; you loose respect; you undermine the effectiveness of your communication and worst of all, lying can undermine the promise and purposes of God concerning your life. In fact lying is a sign of lack of faith in God; your flawed character can even be passed to your children. You see, Abraham lied about his wife so did his son, Isaac. His grandson Jacob too told a little lie to his father. Your little lie can even bring fatal consequences on you and the persons involved.
So, be intentional about telling nothing but the whole truth.
So help me God to tell nothing but the whole truth.
Yours faithful scribbler,
NzakuNashipae
©Jesus Loves You
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