Introduction:
Illustration: A minister said to his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. In preparation for that message, I'm asking all of you to read Mark 17 this coming week." The following Sunday, he stood up to preach and asked, "How many of you took the time to read Mark 17 this past week?" Nearly every hand went up. Minister smiled and said, "That's very good, but Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my message on the sin of lying."The world tells us that, "Lying is not only okay, but it is necessary to lie just to get through life.”Illustration: a minister noticed a group of boys standing around small stray dog. "What are you doing, boys?" he asked. "Telling lies." One of them replied. "The one who tells the biggest lie gets this dog." The minister was shocked and said to them, "When I was your age, I would never have thought of telling a lie." The boys looked at each other, seemingly a little crestfallen. Finally, one shrugged and said, "I guess he wins the dog."The Essence of a Lie The essence of a lie is the intent to deceive.Sometimes not saying anything can actually be lie.We can tell a partial truth and yet still lie.The Danger In Lying It pushes us away from God.It separates us from each other.It is very self-destructive.Two More ConsiderationsAre there any exceptions to this rule?- Illustration: The Ten Boom family in WWII. Sometimes the truth hurts unnecessarily, so it ought to remain confined in one's mind.Conclusion: Our goal in life ought to be to embrace the truth. |
Printer view
back to top
