Lies vs. Freedom: Restoring Truth In Our Culture

Satan devised the lie and first used it in the garden of Eden when he sprinkled a little doubt by asking Eve, “Did God really say you would die…?” He then lied to make God out to be the bad guy saying, “You certainly will not die!” and then followed up with the false promise of “your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods.” 

Satan, the father of lies, causes nothing but confusion, division, destruction and slavery to sin. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God and from one another. Satan’s strategy worked so well with Adam and Eve that he uses the same strategy on us today, and it still works!

When we lie, we become a prisoner to that lie. Then we have to tell more lies to cover that lie. Then we have to keep track of which lies we told to who. Lying is becoming the norm. The Eighth Commandment is a true GIFT from God. 

Truth is the foundation of relationships making it possible to live in harmony with one another and to live a peaceful and joy-filled life. Truth establishes honor and respect for one another, and truth is a pillar of trust necessary for healthy marriages and strong communities. 

However, because of our selfishness and pride, we struggle with accepting the truth and go to great lengths to deny the truth, creating a mess. In time, the lies produce confusion, fear, disagreements, anger and division, and we spin more lies to cover the first lie with each lie growing bigger than the last. With each lie, our humanity and dignity diminish, making it more difficult to recognize the truth as we are led further from God. 

Lying can have devastating lifelong impacts that span generations. Alternatively, truth leads us to Jesus, who is Truth, and living in truth sets us free. Free from the slavery of lies, free to enjoy good relationships and experience authentic joy. True Freedom only comes through following God’s Commandments. Jesus tells us so in the scriptures:
 

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.”  – John 8:31-34

Continue reading below to how to live this Commandment in your daily life. 

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
“Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor”

 To become better aware of the lies that many of us have grown blind to, the list below is a breakdown of the types of lies along with some examples. 

• White Lies – False responses given to avoid hurting other’s feelings, e.g. “Yes, I really do like your new haircut. (Gag, cough, smile.)” To avoid white lies, we should be loving, respectful and sincere in giving a true response that will be helpful and not hide the truth. 
• Fib/Exaggeration/Boasting – A false statement to impress someone or diminish someone’s credibility. This type of lie is prone to becoming habitual lying, e.g. “I have done that a million times.” Or, “You never get to work on time.” 
• Half-Truth – Withholding some of what is necessary for others to assess the full truth, e.g. telling your boss the third quarter preliminary sales are up twenty percent, but intentionally leaving out that the final results will be considerably less. 
• Gossip/Fabrication/Plotting – Talking about someone with the intent of damaging their reputation or boosting your own, e.g. “Did you hear that Bob might lose his job again?”
• Flattery – Insincere compliments that misleads others to think they are better than they are. Flattery is often used insincerely to make others like us, e.g. “Your cooking is absolutely the best.”
• Compulsive/Habitual – Frequent use of any one or multiple forms of lying. Habitual lying is a symptom of severe confusion and insecurity. 
• Breaking promises – Making a promise with little or no intention to keep the promise, e.g. “I promise I will make it up to you.”
• Living a Lie – Portraying to be someone we are not or living contrary to reality, e.g. Living above our income to impress others or being in denial of our talents and the person God created us to be. 
• Disclosing Secrets – Sharing something that was told to you in confidence, e.g. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but…..”
• Euphemisms – Flowery words that hide the real meaning of something bad. For example, “freedom of choice,” “death-with-dignity” and “right-sizing the workforce.”
• Bold-faced/Blatant Lies – A direct false statement that we know is not true and is intended to mislead someone. 

Learn More About The Ten Commandments Teachings!

Click Here to access the many FREE resources to help you teach your family about God’s Commandments!  

To dive deeper in your knowledge of learning and living the 10 Commandments on a daily basis in order to experience true joy and freedom, visit our 10 Commandments Page that corresponds to each of the 10 Commandments.