The (Somewhat) Surprising Sin on God’s Super Naughty Sin List-
Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good- Romans 12:9 NASB
Anytime, the God who defines himself as love says He hates something we ought to make a careful note of what that thing is (Deuteronomy 7:9, Joel 2:13, John 4:8, 1st John 4:16). That thing (whatever it may be) is the very biggest of deals and should be avoided at all costs.
For reals.
Thankfully, the God of the universe is never shy about clarifying His feelings on any subject. Proverbs gives us a detailed list of all of the things God hates the most.
It says:
There are six things that the Lord hates. Seven that are an abomination to Him:Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil,a false witness who declares lies and one who spreads strife among brothers-Proverbs 6:16-19 NASB
First on the lineup on God’s naughty list is, “haughty eyes”. “Haughty eyes” is just a fancy-pants euphemism for having a prideful heart (Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 11:2, 1st John 2:16). God is opposed to pride because humans have no justification for getting all caught up in pride. Furthermore, it’s gross and a gateway sin for a whole heap of other really icky sins.
Ultimately, prideful people consider themselves to be superior to and worthier than others. A prideful person believes deep in their heart they are special and should be beyond rebuke—no matter how questionable or outright sinful their actions. As a result, prideful people have no issue skirting rules they demand others follow or inflicting emotional pain when it suits them. Prideful, arrogant, haughty people can justify pretty much anything.
Nor, is it a surprise God is categorically not a fan of people who habitually go around devising evil schemes. All morally sane people agree evil schemes deserves to make the naughty list. It’s also no surprise God has issues with those who shed innocent blood or people who are eager to commit all sorts of evil deeds (Exodus 20:13, Jeremiah 8:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21). Those three issues are the low-hanging fruits on the morality tree. Even a lot of pagans understand why God has a problem those things.
Perhaps, the biggest surprise (at least to me) is how much God has to say about what we say. Three out of the seven on the super-naughty list all have to do with lying and or strife—the natural fallout of telling lies.
Which begs the question:
Why is God so uptight about dishonesty?
Even morally questionable people fully understand God’s issues with big-giant-crazy-pants lies. It’s not difficult to grasp why lying under oath, in a court of law when someone’s life or freedom hangs in the balance is a big deal. It’s easy to understand why God would get bent out of shape over lies that effect someone else’s money, reputation or marriage.
However.
It could be reasoned, that the vast majority of lies are harmless. What does it matter if I tell someone their hair looks nice when it doesn’t? Why would God have a problem with me telling someone I’m busy when I am not? God’s boundaries concerning this issue feel a bit restrictive to our twenty-first century, post-modern sensibilities. It feels like God is meddling in trivial issues that are none of His concern.
However, God is not capricious. He does not make up rules for no reason. He knows the end from the beginning. He forbids any and all lying for at least four reasons;
Lying is a gateway sin-
Telling one little lie (even one that feels inconsequential) makes it easier to move on to bigger and more elaborate lies. It also makes us comfortable with other ugly sins that inevitably hurt others and defile us sins like jealousy, slander, hypocrisy and pride (Leviticus 19:16, 1st Peter 2:1, Mark 7:21-23)
If a person lies for long enough about enough stuff the lines between fiction and non-fiction become blurred in their mind-
I have observed that is a liar lies for long enough, a moral transformation takes place and it becomes very difficult for the liar to know what is true and what is false anymore. Truth-be-told, I do not understand all the why’s and how’s of this process. I suspect it happens because when we lie, we literally affiliate or align with Satan. Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and the enemy of our souls. When we align ourselves with Satan in this area he gains a foothold and sees to it we forfeit our ability to discern truth from lies (Ephesians 4:25-27). Yikes.
Lying stunts our spiritual growth-
Any sin we willfully hang on to will create chaos with our spiritual growth and hijack our spiritual effectiveness. That said, lying is a pernicious and sneaky sin. It’s easy to dismiss lying as a small, inconsequential issue and therefore not a big deal. As a result, the loss of growth and maturity goes unnoticed. Furthermore, partnering with God to accomplish His purposes in this world is the ultimate blessing a Christian can experience. Because, God cannot and will not partner with darkness of any kind, living a life of duplicity makes partnering with God impossible.
And finally,
God is a relational God who loves to see His people living in harmony with one another. Therefore, He hates anything and everything that divides people and creates strife. There is no faster route to creating strife and breaking bonds between people than telling a lie.
