Lynn Jones: Telling the truth is important
By Lynn Jones
One of the most powerful forces in the world is the truth. An election for governor of Texas was entering the home stretch when an aide came rushing in and said to one of the candidates, “Sir, you’ve got to go to Brownsville. They’re telling lies about you down there.” The candidate responded, “I can’t go to Brownsville; I’ve got to go to Amarillo. They’re telling the truth about me up there.” Truth is a sharp sword to wield in a political race or in other areas of life. The ability to tell the truth is often a scarce commodity in our day. In the book The Day America Told the Truth, a survey of people indicated that 91% of Americans admitted that they lied routinely.
In the early church, there was an incident that showed the seriousness of not telling the truth. Barnabas sold a piece of land and gave all the money to the church. When Ananias and Sapphira saw all the affirmation that Barnabas received for his generous gift, they wanted to get in on the act. They sold a piece of land and brought some of the money to the church, claiming that it was the total amount of money that they had received for the property. Actually, they had kept back part of the money for themselves.
When Peter saw the amount of money that had been given, he recognized that this was not the total amount of money that they had received for the property. He put his finger on the root of the problem. He said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land” (Acts 5:3)? Jesus once called Satan, “the father of lies” (John 8:4). He is the one who inspired the lie of Ananias and Sapphira, and he is the one who inspires us to lie. A lie can be disastrous to our effectiveness in the Lord’s work. Honesty is to characterize our lives.
While honesty is a quality that is to be prized, we have no permission to wield honesty irresponsibly. Sometimes honesty is used as a smokescreen to hide more suspect motives. When someone comes up to me and asks, “Could I be honest with you about something?” I want to say, “No, please lie to me. Whatever you do, don’t be honest with me.” Why do I react that way? Because often that statement is followed by some very painful words, which may or may not be true. Why couldn’t we follow the statement by sharing wonderful news with someone—news that expresses affirmation and gratitude to someone? Don’t use truth as a club. Speak the truth, but as Paul urged, “Speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
