How to Recognize a Lie

This is a big election year in our country.  Politicians are making speeches and giving interviews to convince the public that they are the best candidate for elected office.  Many promises are made and statements about positions on critical issues are affirmed…but, how do we KNOW if what the candidate said was true or if he/she was lying?  Recognizing a lie is a tricky thing if you don’t know what it  looks like.  Webster’s dictionary defines truth as: Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.  This seems pretty straightforward – the problem is that man has decided that he can create his own reality so the truth is ultimately whatever man believes to be so.  That which supports his lifestyle, beliefs, and values.  In short, the truth has become whatever you want it to be!  This makes life very comfortable for us since we can now justify our morals, values and behaviors by simply creating our own reality and conforming to whatever we have said is good, true, and right.  The obvious problem with this philosophy is that every person has the  ability to create their own reality and thus there is no set standard for right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies.

Given this untenable position of multiple realities, how can one recognize a lie?  The  only solution to this problem is that there must be a universal standard for truth, morality,  and  righteousness.  Luckily, God not only provided that standard in His 66 chapter love letter to us, He IS that standard for all eternity.  God is truth and everything which is contrary to His nature or His Word is a lie.  When U.S. Treasury agents are trained to identify counterfeit money, they do so by studying only REAL currency to memorize what the truth looks like.  After they have become experts in recognizing truth, it is easy to spot a lie.  Good counterfeiters make their false currency look as much like the truth as they can, but there is always some flaw which is recognizable to the truth-trained eye.  As children of God, we need to immerse ourselves in the truth of His being and His Word and dedicate our lives to conforming to the FACT that God’s Word is the only reality in this world.
Learn to recognize a lie by studying The Truth.  As Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Pray for discernment in your life and for the needs of others.

-Pastor Dave Jones