L I E S Limited Information Eclipsing Scripture
Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Psalm 31:18 Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
Psalm 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.
Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but a moment.
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Proverbs 14:25 A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.
Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.
Luke 16:10 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.
Revelations 21:8 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.
I don’t know anyone who likes to be lied to. It is like a base affront. Trust is built on truthfulness so the instant one finds they have been lied to, it is difficult to ever establish a trusting rapport again. It can happen, but establishing trust takes time. Once someone has lied to another, suspicion remains about almost anything that is said. One remains guarded, watchful and as though waiting for another untruth to be said, shown, or given. One of the most pertinent children’s stories I remember was about Peter and the Wolf. Young Peter thought it would be funny to see all the men from the village come running to protect him from the wolf. However, there was no wolf, so he had frightened, interrupted the men and villagers, and hence they were a bit angry. However, the boy repeated this a few days later. Again, the men came running. Again, there was no wolf, and a few days later a wolf did appear, Peter called out and no one came. I don’t remember if the wolf enjoyed his young boy meal, or if the lad made it up a tree. But the part of the story that did stick with me was playing a “game” and calling for help with no reason to, and then “killing” the need when there might really be a need for help.
Bottom line is, Peter lied, twice, and when he was actually in need, no one believed him and no one came to help him. Trust was destroyed.
It takes a while to build up trust, usually it’s gradual, overtime coming to learn more and more about a person and becoming aware of their dependability, their being straight forward telling you truths, you may not want to hear. For instance, I had a very good friend who was truthful and would say something did not look great, even if she knew I liked it. I always knew I could depend on her being truthful in all things. trust may come about when one promptly pays back money borrowed, it is sharing and phrasing suggestions to not hurt, but to build up and let you see the truth. It may be someone sees your strengths and states those so you can grow from that. But it is truth being spoken, tested, and substantiated.
I had a friend who was a gorgeous woman, but one of those not initially liked or accepted by other women. She sat alone in a corner, where her husband placed her and he would dance with other single women—not to flirt or anything untoward. He and she were great dancers, but he preferred her not to dance with others, and he wanted to ensure all the widows or divorcees were able to dance at least once. Once he danced with the single gals, he would gather his lovely wife and they would dance and basically entertain many of the rest of us, because they did dance well together.
So, during the time she would be sitting alone, I approached her. I will admit, I received questioning and accusing glances from many of the other women, but they all knew I was no threat. They accepted me into the group, confident I was not a woman on the prowl for ‘their’ man, some even respected me. But they did not accept her. She was thin, shapely, had a come-hither walk, a great dancer, and certainly was noticed by men, including these women’s husbands. These other women didn’t trust her because of her looks, her manner (which was a defense mechanism), but they did not even know her. And because of insecurities or whatever they held, had decided to pre-judge her. And probably from my brief description, you can understand that. But they did not initially want to get to know her. They had labeled her stuck up, a tease, after their men, a threat. . .
They had judged without knowing who she was as a person; but on sight only, as an attractive, sexy, aloof woman who made them insecure and stilted in reaching out.
As time went on, I insisted we—her husband, she, and me sit together. Any other friends who wanted to join us, some out of curiosity, some out of friendship with me or her husband could sit at the table and learn who she was. And suddenly, she had women who wanted to include her, be with her, and get to know her better. They had mistrusted her on their own sense of insecurity, doubting their husbands perhaps, or being a judgmental, scornful woman. But this gal became one of my best friends; and there was no dishonesty to her. Sometimes, though rarely, she told me things I didn’t want to hear—truthful, but nonetheless. . . But she always spoke for my betterment, my improvement. It takes a while for me to fully trust, but within a fairly short amount of time, I considered her one of the best gifts God brought to me.
Trust is so tangible and can be so fleeting, so tenuous. It can be destroyed by a piece of gossip, not even a bit of truth, just conjecture being pushed out as a truth. I will check before believing a negative thing about a friend, and not just fully believe. I have been blessed in almost all of my relationships, and at times have been hurt, but when checking the info with the actual source, get the straight story. I could have ended good friendships believing some gossip, conjecture, or downright lies. I try to fully judge for myself. For me, I prefer to make my own decision before I cast someone aside.
Lord, You have put wonderful people in my life, special gifts, and it’s been rare that I have had reason to mistrust, especially after going to them and listening to their story. You have blessed me with rich, loving, and grateful family and friends; and I sincerely thank You. My walk with all of these have caused me to increase my trust, trust my ‘gut’—You and the Holy Spirit—and to be blessed. Thank You for the abundance of gifts You have bestowed on me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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