by Darnell Whitfield

Remember the children’s saying, “Liar, liar, pants on fire”? Liars are a detriment to our society, yet they are everywhere. They are in our homes, schools, on the job, in politics and even in our justice system.

We have to face the fact that liars exist and that anyone is capable of lying. When you turn on the television and watch the news, liars are prevalent in politics. When they are called out on their mishandling of the public’s trust, instead of being honest and owning up to what they have done, they will lie to absolve themselves of any involvement. When caught in their lies, they will continue to lie.

I think you know where I’m going with this. Let’s have a conversation about liars.

First of all there are so many types of liars, for instance there are the white liars. They are people who tell white lies often and feel as if these kinds of lies are beneficial or at least harmless. White liars often tell only some of the truth. So it could be that people mistakenly believe they aren’t lying at all.

Take, for instance, the type of liar the Apostle John addressed this type of Christian in 1 John 3:17 (ESV:) “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

This Scripture simply means that God expects Christians to be honest. So saying that you don’t have when you do and not extending yourself to the needs of others is a lie.

Next we have the careless liars, who lie all the time and don’t particularly care about the sense of their lies. Occasional liars are people who only tell a lie occasionally and there are a lot of them out there. If you attend church, you know them. They are the ones who will lie about why they could not make it to Sunday school, Bible Study or any church event for that matter. The only positive about occasional liars is the fact that they become so overcome with guilt that they admit to their lies and look for forgiveness.

Habitual liars lie all the time. In fact they will lie about the lie that they just told you. Lying is their default way to respond to questions. No matter how small or big the question or problem, no matter how serious or insignificant, compulsive liars will always bend the truth. They don’t like telling the truth at all.

Why am I bringing up the subject of liars? Because liars are a detriment, they cause misdirection from the truth and deceives many. Even God’s nature is diametrically opposed to lies, in Psalm 101:7 (ESV): “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.”

Liars deceive us by misdirecting the person or the masses into an area of untruth, and this causes trouble whenever the truth is revealed, of which brings heartache and headaches.

I remember when I was seven years old and some older boys in my neighborhood approached me about helping poor people around the world by going door to door to ask for donations, and I did filling two UNICEF cans. When I gave my cans to them, they stated that I did such a good job that they gave me a $1.25.

Needless to say, I ran to Dr. Smith’s drugstore and bought three 12-cent comic books, a bag of potato chips and a Baby Ruth candy bar.

When my mother stated she needed to talk to me, I was nervous. There was a certain way my Mother spoke when she was very serious about something. She asked me where did I get the money to buy potato chips and candy.

I answered that I had found the money, of which was a lie. She then explained that she spoke to one of the neighbors that said, “She was proud of Darnell doing something to help the world.” My mother then explained to me that I would be going to every person to explain what I had done and apologize for my action, and if that was not bad enough she gave me a spanking, while explaining that my punishments would make me understand that lying would never be tolerated. I never forgot that lesson to this day, which is why I don’t like liars.

Christians who lie will face a greater punishment of which they cannot recover from found in Revelation 21:8 (ESV:)“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

So whether you are an occasional liar, habitual liar or a white liar, you must stop lying if you don’t want to face the consequence of Hell and the Lake of Fire. Just as the children’s warning goes, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire!”

Tell the truth and live your life in truth, because the truth shall set you free!

Happy Labor Day!

May God richly bless you, by the movement of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ!

DARNELL WHITFIELD is senior pastor of Diamond Grove Baptist Church in Franklin. Contact him at 742-1343 or revwhitfield@me.com.