Truth

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Exodus 20:16

When I asked my children’s S.S. class about the 9^th commandment, every hand in the room was raised.  Without calling on anyone, I asked them to put their hands down.  Then I said, “Please raise your hand if you’ve never told a lie.”  No hands were raised, and everyone laughed.  One of the children said, “If anyone had raised their hand, they would’ve been lying!”  Sigh.  How very sadly true.

I asked the kids if they had ever read the description of God’s people in heaven that is found in Revelation 14:5.  In the original language, it says that these people had no “guile” in their mouths.  If you look up “guile” in the Greek, you will discover that it means “fish bait.”  Why in the world would God say that His people had no fish bait in their mouth?

When you go fishing, you take a fishing pole and bait.  The bait – let’s say a worm – goes on the hook.  Why is there bait on the hook?  To trick the fish.  The worm dangles there to disguise what is really present – a hook that will catch in the fish’s mouth so that he can be drawn to his death.  Guile is deception, falsehood, trickery – a great description of a lie.  God’s people’s lives are transparent – what you see is what you get; what you are told is the truth.

I will always tell the truth and never tell a lie.

That’s what God wants me to do,

That’s what God wants me to do,

That’s what God wants me to do

and I am His child.

(Sung to the tune Bingo)