Truth in the Word

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. – Proverbs 30:5

Who doesn’t hate to be lied to? All of us. Yet, it’s ironic that we find it easy to lie about little things ourselves. Somewhat of a double standard, don’t you think? The fact is, we lump a number of excuses under the heading of “protective lying” in order to justify, well…a lie.

I recently completed co-writing a novel with a wonderful friend on the west coast. One

continuous theme that carried through the manuscript is that even protective lying has

a price. It's still not the truth, and whatever the reason, lies still hurt. Even when we have the best of intentions, lies tend to come back to haunt us. Regardless of what the intent, we were still

dishonest. This is where we begin to split hairs and try to justify the reasons we engage in

falsehoods.

In my job, we deal daily with the elderly. Many have forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Anyone who has dealt with these diseases knows there comes a point where you have no option but to lie to the individual to protect them from harm. Does that make it right? No, it doesn’t, but when their safety and well-being is at stake, what do you do?

I’ve spent a lot of time studying in the word. I’m still, by no means, an authority. I still lack the appropriate knowledge I need to be a truly effective servant. However, one thing I have found for sure, God never lies. His word never lies. It never contradicts, it never misunderstands, and it never messes up. It is the one true, and faithful thing we can count on. The only time there is an issue within the scripture is when we choose to throw in our own interpretations. The Word of God is clear, and when we enter into study, the first thing we need to do is pray that God will give us unclouded vision and understanding.

My grandmother used to say, “You can take that to the bank.” And she is right. You can rest assured the Word of God is fully and completely trustworthy. When all else fails, there is confidence in the Word. Study, learn, dig into the depths of the wisdom of the writers. Seek and learn the things that God longs to teach us. There is truth in the word. You can take that to the bank.

Prayer: Father, when we are tempted to be dishonest, gently nudge us, reminding us the truth is best.