Abomination

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.”  Proverbs 12:22

Abomination – If God ever rank ordered sins (which He doesn’t), lying would be right up there at the top.  We might not consider it on a par with murder or adultery, but God’s hatred for this couldn’t get much stronger!  We see a better picture when we realize what God considers an abomination.

The Hebrew word is to’evah.  What might surprise you are the other sins that God bundles under this word.  Idolatry, breaking the covenant bond by intermarriage, worshipping wickedness, child sacrifice and homosexuality are called to’ebah.  Lying has some very nasty company.

Why does God consider lying so offensive?  After all, so many of our little white lies seem so harmless.  Why should God be so upset?  The answer is found in the character of God.  A lie distorts truth.  Since God is the God of truth, any lie alters the correct picture of God’s reality.  In addition, a lie implies that God Himself is associated with this false picture.  A lie uses God’s truthful image in vain.  Lies are ultimately blasphemy.  They misrepresent the character of God and His children.  A very subtle lie introduced sin into this world (“Did God really say that?”)  A very appealing lie is the basis of our rebellion against God (“You can be like God”).   If you give it some deeper reflection, you might just discover that lying is at the root of nearly every kind of sin. 

The final explanation comes from the mouth of Jesus.  Satan is the Father of lies.  Lying is his native language.  No wonder it is so serious.

And by the way, it is a lie to think that lying doesn’t really amount to much, isn’t it?

“I am the way, the truth and the life.”  Does your speech reflect your leader?