Session 11

Lying won’t get you what you really want

From Proverbs: A 31-Day Devotional

Remember the rush of getting away with a little white lie as a child?

Maybe you said you cleaned your room when really you stashed the entire mess under your bed. Maybe you said you ate your vegetables as you slid that hunk of broccoli to the family dog under the table.

The lies we told as kids seem insignificant now. But left uncorrected, lying is a sinful habit we can carry into adulthood.

Lying takes many forms in Proverbs 13 — speaking carelessly and saying things we don't mean, pretending to be someone we’re not, saying we don't need help when we do, conning others to make money, saying one thing and doing another.

As adults we’re no longer trying to convince our parents we ate our broccoli, we’re trying to convince others we're a different version of ourselves. We lie when we feel like there is something to hide. Proverbs 13:7 describes this tendency perfectly: “One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.”

God made each of us unique and special. It doesn’t matter if we’re rich, poor, happy, sad, if we care about who wins the Super Bowl or not. We are God’s children made on purpose, for a purpose, and with a purpose. And, the sooner we stop striving to make our lives what we think they should be, the sooner we can begin building the life God made us to see.

Where the fool’s life is full of pretense and drama, “a God-loyal life keeps you on track” and “a plain and simple life is a full life” (Proverbs 13:6-7, MSG). The wise and godly don’t experience the rush of getting away with a lie, but they also don’t experience the consequences of getting caught in one.

Reflect:

• Think back to the last time you lied about something. What were you hiding? Was the lie worth compromising your integrity?
• Is insecurity causing you to pretend to be someone you’re not? Ask God to give you confidence and to believe that you are worthy of being who you are.
• Those who surround themselves with wise people grow wiser. Who are the wise people in your life who are helping you get wiser?