Thou Shalt Not Lie

A lie can feel like a tiny shortcut until you realize it’s been quietly rewriting who you are. We start with stories that are honestly hilarious (prank calls, a window-paint “joke” that crossed a line, and a car that definitely didn’t “just break”), then we shift into why the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness,” is far more than a rule about not getting caught. For anyone searching for Christian advice on honesty, integrity, and trust, this conversation goes straight to the heart: truthfulness is about character.

We dig into how deception shows up in everyday life: not only deliberate lies, but also the smoother, more subtle kind that spins a story to manipulate outcomes. We also talk about gossip and why it clings to people even after it’s proven false. That lingering damage is one reason Scripture treats lying as serious, especially given the commandment’s courtroom roots where false testimony carried life-or-death consequences. The thread underneath it all is spiritual: Satan’s first recorded attack isn’t violence, it’s deception, and twisting words is still one of the most effective tools against us.

Then we get practical. How do we tell the truth with grace, not harshness? What does accountability look like inside real friendships and real church community? And for the person listening who’s currently stuck in a lie, we offer simple, direct counsel: don’t stay in the dark, come clean, and start rebuilding trust today. If you want more conversations about the Ten Commandments, biblical truth, and a life built on integrity, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review that helps others find it.

Transcript

Silliest Lies We Got Caught In

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Kennesaw First Podcast. Life built on truth.

SPEAKER_05 0:09

What's up, guys? How we doing?

SPEAKER_04 0:11

What up? What's good, man?

SPEAKER_05 0:13

So we are on the ninth commandment. Thou shalt not lie. Or you could say bear false witness if you would like to use that particular translation of scripture. As we're jumping in this morning or afternoon, whatever time it is. What's the biggest lie you ever told that you got caught in? Or maybe, maybe we shouldn't say biggest, right? You might want to take that one to your grave. I don't really know. But maybe, uh maybe like silliest, like just a funny situation where you got caught in some mess because you didn't tell the truth. Uh, let me start this one off.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

We must have a lot to talk about. I can't think of anything off the top of the so we can forget about it by the time uh no man, but I think I was in fifth grade, and back then we had caller ID.

SPEAKER_05 1:03

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Summer break. I prank called my teacher. I changed my voice. Because we had yellow pages, so I got her number from that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jason, you probably don't know nothing about it.

SPEAKER_05 1:16

Hey, easy. Phone book for these big books, yellow pages. They were the business section was yellow, okay, but so I prank called her, changed my voice and all.

SPEAKER_04 1:25

Hung up. I did this at least about three to four times with my cousin. She then calls back. This was when my grandparents were home. And I'm not gonna lie to you, I lied. I even starred 60 uh 69. I was about to say, did you block it? Like I did. I did. However, it still came through and she knew. And I still denied it. I still denied it. It took about a week. And my grandparents knew I was lying. Trey, we know you're gonna lie. And I still did it. And yeah, that whole summer we did nothing.

unknown 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:58

Absolutely nothing. Everything came out of the room. The only thing we had was a bed, a pillow, a nightstand, and a Bible. That was it.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Essentials.

SPEAKER_04 2:07

Everything else was out. Man. So yeah, that was the most silliest lie that I think I've ever told.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

Yeah, I remember back in high school, might have been my uh sophomore junior year, uh, I was on a baseball team, and there was a handful of us that were all dating softball players. And so I was staying the night with some buddies, and we got wind that all the softball team was having a sleepover, and that all of their cars were out there. And so we went to Walmart, loaded up in the car, and uh got some window paint and went and drew all over their windows. And it was fine because we were all riding just like really funny, petty stuff like BC baseball rules and softball stinks and stuff, like funny things. One of our friends wrote, softball players are like this, and then drew a picture of a cow, and then we saw a light turn on at the house, and we were like, We gotta get out of here. And then we're driving away, and what we all start looking at and we're like, Did you say they were a cow? And he was like, Yeah, I thought it was funny. We're like, No, like that's not funny, that's not cool, and so they found out. So the girl that I was dating at the time calls me about 10 minutes later. Hanging out, hanging out with the boys, just like hanging out. She was like, Oh, that's crazy. Cause like, I think a bunch of baseball players just came and drew on our cars. I was like, Oh, that's crazy. Let me try to figure out who it was. And she was like, You didn't do this? I was like, nah, nah, I didn't do it, I would never do that. And so then we all started getting assed, and we would we would just deny, deny, deny. And then finally we were just like, Yeah, we did it. And they were really upset about the cow thing. And I was like, Listen, I was leaving. I had nothing to do with the cow thing.

SPEAKER_05 4:14

So it was to him too. Yeah, we got mad too. After we stopped laughing alone, is what you were thinking.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Sure.

SPEAKER_05 4:20

Yeah. So was there any fallout? Naturally, that girl's name was not Caitlin.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Uh no, it was not Caitlin. Um, there was no real fallout. They got mad at one particular guy who really didn't have much to do with it, but he was just kind of a kind of an overall jerk, and they really got mad at him. Uh, they called him over our our the baseball field and the softball field were right next to each other. Called him over during their practice, and then just proceeded to kick dirt on him. And then he got really humiliated and came back over. So it was and then it was kind of the end of it. Sure. So that's fantastic. There we go. Shenan once. Shenanigan. What? Yeah, we shenanigans.

unknown 5:09

Alright.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

You're welcome. Which one is this? Throw in a little boom.

SPEAKER_05 5:15

I don't know which one I just hit. I hope I just hit maybe Christmas. Pastor P, you got anything?

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Oh, I um told my dad one time what happened was is I drove my car up and I was next to this other guy, and he started revving his engine. And so I took mine down into neutral and uh crammed the gas to the floor, and then uh light turned green. I shoved it down into drive. He took off like crazy. I seared off my U-joint. And uh so anyway, and it was and it was it was time for Sunday night church. So, so anyway, so I had to find a way to get that thing pulled back with a chain or something. I don't remember how we did it, but anyway, we got it back to the church parking lot. And I told my dad the thing just broke. And he's like, What happened? I said, I don't know, it just broke. And uh so he had a guy from the church come over. What'd you do? He said, Yeah, the U-joint is seared off this thing, you know, and he just kept. I was like, oh, don't but don't no no no no no no don't tell my dad, don't tell my dad. I'm gonna be so busted. And anyway, so he helped me replace the U-joint, and fortunately, Jim Hodge went out for you. He decided not to tell my dad, and so I came under the radar on that one, but I never ever put my car into neutral and crazy ever. Yeah, so so dad. Sorry, you're probably listening to this, and now you finally got the real story.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

Oh, that's a secret for that long.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

It's only been like uh like 40 something years, you know.

SPEAKER_05 7:11

You're grounded now.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

I'm grounded. That'll be nice.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

I can't talk to anybody.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

How long can I be there?

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Till I calm down.

SPEAKER_05 7:27

It'd be a while. So I I would say probably the silliest one I've ever, the silliest mess I've ever really gotten in was a it was a mutual effort between me and a buddy of mine. His name was we called him Arkansas because he was from Arkansas. We're very original people in South Carolina, yeah. And Arkansas was in the drums uh percussion section of our band. Uh we became friends because of marching band kind of thing. Well, him and his mom lived in an apartment complex uh in Greer, and we would hang out a good bit. And one day she was at work and we were at their apartment, and we thought it was a good idea to practice, you know, pitching inside the apartment. Okay. Mind you, neither of us played baseball. Right? Like, oh man. And I just decided I was just gonna like, we're gonna go full sin on this thing. We're we're aiming at this love seat ottoman kind of thing. And uh, so we chunk it in there, things are going fine. Arkansas reaches back one time, and he misses a little ha and a little ha minute went into the drywall. There's a nice neat little hole.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

I was waiting there.

SPEAKER_05 8:37

Yeah, no windows were harmed in the making of this. When it's good, but just the drywall. Well, this is where it gets real fun. So we realize obviously this is not good, nor is this easy to hide, right? As a youth pastor, I've since learned how to patch holes in walls, right? There are ways around things, uh, but didn't know that then I was in high school. And so uh Zach's mom comes home and we we have placed a pillow intricately in front of this hole, as if that's gonna make sense as to why it's there. So she finds it, and Arkansas she says, What happens? And he says that he was getting a this it was a bigger TV. So we back in the day had these TVs that were like foxes chasing. Uh they're massive, they weren't flat screen. But so he's getting this TV out of his closet and it fell and hit him in the head, so he got mad and threw a baseball. This was the story. Oh my god. And now I'm lumped into it, right? Because like I can't be like, no, bro, that's not what happened. Like, I've got to have homies back. And it did not take Miss Patty long to figure out that uh that was baloney.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

That's a the most lame excuse. It was I mean, in Arkansas, that is Arkansas. If you're out there, you should be ashamed of yourself. We are much smarter than that in Arkansas. Oh if you're gonna make one out do better than that.

A Viral Traffic Stop And Truth

SPEAKER_01 9:58

So the title of this sermon actually makes me think of a really funny video that's going around the internet. This lady gets pulled over. That's what I thought it was when I saw the picture. The lady gets pulled over, and the cop goes to the door and he's like, uh, ma'am, I saw you with your phone in your right hand. She holds her hand up and she does not have a right hand. It is just enough. And he goes, I promise I saw it. And she goes, I swear, hand to God. And puts up her arm without a hand, and he goes, Can you do the other hand, please? And she puts up her other hand to swear, hand to God. And so it gets it, it gets into uh kind of what we're talking about this week is is uh the the subject of lying. And we've kind of talked a lot as we've gone throughout the uh Ten Commandments that that uh there's the explicit meaning and then there's kind of the the underlying application. And so uh what does what does this commandment have to tell us about honesty, integrity, and the consequence of lying?

SPEAKER_02 11:07

Yeah, the passage really kind of focuses in as we look at this commandment. It focuses in on integrity, who we are, what we're like, what our character is like. And one of the easiest things in the world to do is to lie. I mean, it we we do it all the time. Um we lie to ourselves, we lie to God sometimes, we lie to others sometimes. And um matter of fact, it's it's probably the most prevalent sin in our society is lying. And um but kind of the first part of the message really focuses in on the character of Satan himself and how he was a liar from the beginning. The Bible says that there was no truth in him at all. And so the um the the focus of of this passage is beginning to look at that is to begin to say, well, what does it mean to lie? And how do we uh choose to live our life? Do we choose to live our life with the character of truth? Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And Satan is the father of lies. And so when we when we venture into that, we talk about a little bit of about the different ways we lie. We have these deliberate lies, which we're used to talking about. But then there's that one, the deceitful lie, which includes uh just a dishonest, you know, a dishonest approach toward people where you say, I'm gonna trick them into believing, kind of like your friend, uh Mr. Arkansas, who says, I'm gonna deceitfully kind of, I'm gonna, I'm gonna transition this. And then the deluded lie, which is gossip and uh and how that has such an impact on people's lives. It has an impact on our character and who we are, but it also can greatly damage relationships, it can greatly damage um you know uh really somebody's future if you uh choose to gossip and it's people don't forget gossip. What's up with that? Even if they know it was a lie, it still seems to hang out. The residual of of that lie, of that gossip has its impact. So that's the whole thing.

Why Lying Shapes Character

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Satan loves liars. That's the first point.

SPEAKER_04 13:39

So the sermon explored how deception is one of Satan's oldest tactics and how easy it is for all of us to fall into uh different forms of lying and the incredible truth that Jesus died to forgive even the sins we try hardest to hide. So, with my first question to you guys, is why do you think lying often feels like the smallest sin, even when the scripture treats it as something much more?

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Sometimes we don't immediately see the effects of telling a lie. Um, and really, if you were to look at this command kind of in its context, the explicit meaning is not necessarily don't lie, but don't fall, don't bear false witness uh against your neighbor. And so it's more of a courtroom term and kind of the courtroom setting. And back then they didn't have video cameras, they didn't have anything, all they had was witness account, and so the consequence of perjury was death. And so the heart of this commandment is just not to lie because it's wrong, but don't lie because it's the consequence of it is so great. Like you said, you know, it damages relationships, it uh damages your character and integrity. And I think sometimes it's very easy for us to um let a little small petty white lie go because maybe it didn't really affect anything big. Um but we should, again, like we've said so far, uh so many times, we should be evaluating, constantly be evaluating how we are measuring up to some of this and say, well, maybe the consequence wasn't all that great, but I shouldn't do it because I should live uh honorably. I should live with integrity and with character rather than just trying to avoid lying. I should seek to live with honor, character, and integrity.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Yeah, and how often do we exaggerate something? You know, you exaggerate something to make yourself look better, uh, or maybe to exaggerate something to make somebody look worse. And all of that plays itself out in really the way people look at us look at us, and honestly, the the mar that you can lead on somebody's character by telling something that may be exaggerated, um, or there's a there's a different different side to the story, and you're just telling your own side and you haven't stopped to think about okay, what is the truth in the matter?

SPEAKER_05 16:29

Yeah, I think that lying is a scent of comfort, and I think that's part of why we do it so easily and treat it so flippantly. Um because none of us like to face when we are wrong. And so uh we like to try and create a scenario where even if we're not the most right, we're not we're not the only ones wrong. Yeah. Um and I also think it's a scent of pride in that when we lie, especially when we're trying to deceive someone else, we're essentially saying, hey, like I'm smarter than them. Like I can I can really capture this. So saying that uh, you know, we should we shouldn't just try to avoid lying, but we should strive to live with integrity and honoring others, that that really speaks directly into that hard root issue uh that that lying comes out of.

Why Deception Still Works

SPEAKER_04 17:16

So one of the most uh interesting points that you stated was that uh Satan's first recorded attack wasn't violence, it was deception. And so why do you think that deception remains one of the enemy's most effective tools in people's lives today?

SPEAKER_02 17:33

We're so vulnerable to that. We're we're very willing to not only to be deceiving to others so that it'll make us look good, as we've already said, but also it's very easy to deceive ourselves and to begin to talk ourselves into hey, uh that wasn't so bad. That was this is the way it really was. This is and we kind of lighten the load, we water down what the reality is. So I believe that's that's kind of a common thing that we do because we want to look good. And if and if that don't work, we go on the internet, we f send a Facebook post out and say, hey, somebody's doing me a certain way, and then we we get other people to approve of what what our slant story might look like. So yeah, it's um it's it's really easy to fall into this trap.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

I think he he takes advantage, right? He he knows us, he's he's been around people a long, long time. And we see what Satan does in that in that first attack, as you put it, was he twists God's word. It's like, well, what's he continue to do? He continues to twist God's word, he continues to try and deceive through rebranding sin. Right as things that are positive, the same as he did with Eve in the very beginning. So th this this mantra or or uh uh example that he set way back then, he's still after it because it works.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we all know that a lie may solve a problem in the moment, but it often creates a much bigger problem later.

When Honesty Strengthens Relationships

SPEAKER_04 19:16

So how how have you seen honesty strengthen relationships even when telling the truth was uncomfortable or even costly?

SPEAKER_02 19:26

The Bible says faithful are the wounds of a friend. How often are we willing to hold each other accountable? Honesty is one of those things that we have to decide. Am I gonna if I what kind of friend am I gonna be? What kind of level friend am I gonna choose to be? If somebody's wrong, am I gonna tell them or am I gonna, you know, be one of those guys on the internet that turns around and says, Yeah, who do we go beat up with you, you know? Um but when somebody is wrong, and and we have that around the office, you know, we have times when when we may be taking a viewpoint on something and we just need to be holding each other accountable. And that happens here on a pretty consistent basis, it really does. Um, where we'll say, hey, you know, okay, you we need to get this right. This is not right, that is not the right way of thinking, and you know, and it it even goes beyond because because we're such I see it as good friends, we'll say, Hey, you I think you're missing it here. And where as opposed to sometimes we might we might package it with saying, you know, have you thought about it another way? I think the closer you get to a person and the more you feel like they're a friend, and the more you know that that friendship can stand honesty, um, then you're willing to step out and give that to a person and say that to a person. And I think we all need that in our life.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah. I think when it comes to relationships too, uh, the longer you delay uh telling the truth, uh, the harder it is to regain trust. Uh so you know, if if there was something that happened uh maybe between myself and my wife, or myself and a friend, or a coworker or something, and I just kept lying and withholding the truth or bending the truth, and then they found out that hey, I wasn't telling the truth, or I wasn't being truthful, and they realize how long I have held on to this. It takes uh it takes uh multiple times longer to rebuild that trust. And um, so leading with honesty is almost always gonna be a net positive.

SPEAKER_04 21:55

So, as we were talking, uh this question just popped in

Speaking Truth With Grace

SPEAKER_04 21:58

my mind here. Um, so how can Christians speak truth in a way that reflects both honesty and grace. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Where do you come up with all these Christians? Um I think I think when you do things, if you you're honest, you're honest about your feelings. Um but also you're willing if somebody has damaged those feelings or maybe damage that relationship, you're you're humble enough to first off, if you've hurt somebody to say, okay, I was wrong, and go public with that. Don't be afraid to say, hey, you know, that's one act of grace is saying, man, I I may have, everybody may have believed me, but I was wrong. And I came to that, so I need to honestly say I was wrong in this area. Uh sometimes too, when the other person is wrong, it's saying, okay, you know what? We're gonna recover from this. And because we're gonna recover from this, this is how we're going to do that, and how we can do this together. And I'm not gonna turn my back on you just because you made a mistake. And a lot of us need that kind of friend. That really is a real friend. A real friend is somebody that'll be honest with you, uh, but us all uh also be very forgiving of you, even if you have really, really damaged some, some of the you know, the real estate of the relationship. And and um that takes real friendship. And I think all of us look for those kind of people in our life that will that we are comfortable with saying, I want honestly, what do you think about this? Yeah, it's kind of a shame we even have to say it. Honestly. What do you think about this? Because what you're saying, can't uh you're saying, okay, don't make me feel good, tell me what you really think. Tell me what you're seeing, because I'm only seeing things from my viewpoint.

SPEAKER_05 24:01

Yeah. So that that question is so multi-layered, right? Of how how do we speak truth while still leaning in grace, right, by responding in grace and everything else. I think on a lot of levels, one, there's got to be some credibility and trust built there for that to be able to resonate. Um, you know, and like in a in an ideal setting, any two Christians who are genuinely, you know, followers of Jesus should be able to come together and have a difficult conversation of, hey, I've noticed this behavior in your life, and this doesn't honor Jesus well. Um, but I know that if it's coming from somebody that doesn't know me, right, or that I don't know well, I'm gonna take it personally as well. Um, and so I I think having some credibility, having some trust built there matters, but I also think that a lot of times we need to be slow to speak, just like the Bible says, um, and really process through the right way to communicate something. And I don't, I don't mean necessarily um, you know, pulling punches or um oh, what's the phrase? You know, like doctrine it up, trying to trying to make it sound easier than it is. Um, but like there has to be times where we can just come together and or or there needs to be times where we slow down and just say, okay, if someone came to me and with this issue with me, how would I want them to address it? Um, you know, uh, so I I might go to you, Trey, with with an issue uh and address it one way, whereas I might go to Chaston with a different or with the same issue but address it a different way because you're different people and you're gonna respond different ways. Right. And so I think it's important for us as Christians to consider that. What's the what's the best environment? What's the best uh time to address this? Is this a phone call kind of problem or is this a we need to sit down and have lunch kind of problem? Is this a text message of hey, uh what happened with X, Y, or Z? You know, I think there's just a lot that goes into how. Um, but I think that big premise of slow down, make sure you've got credibility built to have that conversation, and then ask how how would I receive this if this person were coming to me with it?

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Yeah, it's kind of like goes back to that. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Right.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

So if you really you care about a person and love them, you're going to there will be else avenues of opening up where you can speak the truth and people, the the recipient will know, hey, he's telling me that or she's telling me this because she actually cares about me. Um and I think that really, you know, on another level, we live in a world where even in my world, my my pastor preaching world, where we we talk about building their life on truth here at Kennesaw First. And it's sometimes difficult, even preaching from a pulpit, saying, okay, how do I share the truth, but yet at the same time, the people to be able to see that there's grace involved. I think that's done out of the pulpit. But it's not always easy because you have somebody visit a first time, you're speaking the truth, and it may not be something somebody wants to hear. And you may be doing that very gracefully, but yet they're receiving it in a different way. And so I think that's another reason why people should get involved in local church, get to know their pastor, get to know the people, and get into relationships where you do have that kind of friendship with people and relationship where somebody can say, okay, here's what God's word says. And when God's word says it, that settles it. The reason why we will hear God is because we know he loves us. He speaks as a father to us and as a good father. And Father's Day's coming up. But you know, uh a child is not going to listen to a father if he's constantly harsh and cruel to them. He's going to turn everything off that they say. But when that is coupled with love and that's coupled with follow-up, you don't just say the truth, but you follow up, uh, just like what we do with our children. I think it's it's so valuable. And in the in the relationships that we build, especially in the body of Christ, I think it's really, really important. One of the greatest reasons why we should not just date the church, not just go to, you know, hey, I'm gonna go to church for services, but instead go to the church and say, this is my family. And um we're a bunch of people who really need Jesus because we're all broken, but Jesus loves us and we're gonna help each other. You know, uh iron sharpens iron. We weep with one, we weep with one another, we we pray for one another, we encourage one another, and we forgive one another. That's one of the biggest ones. We forgive one another.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

So I have a couple of questions.

Is It Ever Okay To Lie

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Um one, and and I want us to chew on this. Is it ever okay to lie?

SPEAKER_02 29:34

Well, you would have to go back to our study in the book of Exodus, wouldn't you? Where you go back and you look at the Hebrew maidservants, and when you look at the maidservants, they obviously told a lie. But God blessed them for it. Now I'm gonna throw that one back at you.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

You know, I was gonna bring it back to the the midwives. Um, you know, you see multiple stories. You see uh Rahab hiding the spies. Um, you know, technically she told a lie, but it was in order to prevent a more serious outcome. And um, I also believe that there was direction from the Holy Spirit there, um, and and in some of these. Um, and so I think there is virtue, you know, and I think about being a parent with our kids so much, you know. The park's closed, the park is closed. Why is this, you know, why are there no dinosaurs? Well, it's because they didn't eat their chicken nuggets, and um, you know, and so we we are constantly embellishing on what reality is, and uh and at the end of the day, like for our kids, sometimes if we told them the truth, they wouldn't understand, or two, it wouldn't provide any benefit. Um, I believe that there are virtuous non-truths that we can tell people. I'm just I'm just saying that's where I that's where I sit on that.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

And uh every time your wife says, Do I look good in this dress? You need to say absolutely in all the right things. I agree with you. Yeah. Actually, honestly, I have never seen my wife not look good in dress. I mean, because I don't look at her that way. I look at her. She's beautiful to me.

SPEAKER_05 31:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

But um, but some things somebody looks better in than others. And so I think we all struggle with okay, what level of what is this supposed to look like in my life, in my daily life? And um, you know, uh, there are ways to speak the truth in love too.

SPEAKER_05 31:53

And uh and does this dress make me look fat? Nothing makes you look fat, but I might recommend a different color, you know?

SPEAKER_02 32:03

Yeah, I did, but I do like, you know, my favorite dress? That's good. You know, you look so good in this color, you know. Take notes, man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

Y'all go.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

I always hit back with the how do you feel in that? How do you feel in that? Because that's really what matters. Okay, so first question.

How To Come Clean For Real

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Uh, and then second question is somebody is listening right now, and they're they're thinking to themselves, I am currently in a lie, and I need to come clean about it. What advice would you give them and how would they go about doing that?

SPEAKER_02 32:46

I'm a shut up and jump guy. Yeah. I'm like, just do it. Rip the band-aid off. Yeah, just do it. Just tell the truth and live with the consequences. It's so much better to get this monkey off your back as opposed to live a lie. And I've heard of people doing that for years, man. Yeah. People finding out later, you know, uh, especially with uh you want to talk the big one that people are dealing with? Like ever since they've been doing this, you know, ancestry.com thing, it's gotten nuts. Because you find out, oh, I have a sister I didn't know about. Or I have a brother I didn't know about. And people go and their parents have passed and they find out information of, you know, that's tough. Rip the band-aid off. Just say, hey, this is what I this is where it was. This is, you know, that was something of the past. Uh we've dealt with it, but I think you need to know this. Um, but a lot of that's not happening. A lot of people have a lot of lies that have been held back for a long time. When you talk about that's probably one of the biggest ones when you're talking about somebody living out a lie. And uh and then be sure your sins will find you out. Um I know growing up, my my dad and mom would always tell me, they said, you know, you would couldn't get away with anything. And uh they said, you either get hurt or you get caught. One of those you're you're God must have a special plan for your life because you always get to get hurt or you get caught. And it seems to be the truth in my life. So I've I just find it just easier than if you're wrong, just call it out. You know, say it. People are much more willing to forgive if you'll confess your sins. If you'll confess, hey, yeah, you're right, I was wrong on that.

SPEAKER_05 34:38

Yeah, I would I would definitely say own it, right? Um nothing gets better by by waiting and holding on. Now, might there be an appropriate time? You know, am I saying drive, you know, if you you've been keeping uh a secret from your from your wife, from your husband, driving to their place of work and dropping this huge bombshell on them in that moment's probably not your best bet. Um, you know, wait for them to get home, whatever. Uh, but there's freedom in truth, right? And anything that we think that any of the negative that that the enemy uses to try and twist us into staying in that lie is because he knows that as long as we're in it, he has control. Uh, and so he knows that the longer you stay in the darkness on that, the more likely he is to keep that grip on you. Run to the light. Yeah, Mark.

SPEAKER_02 35:28

Run to the truth. Mark Twain made a statement that I love, and he says, the great thing about telling the truth is you don't have to have a great memory anymore. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:38

That's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

You don't have to remember what your lie was because you actually do know the truth. Yeah. And so you might as well just tell the truth, and then you don't have to have a great memory. And uh nothing and it's something that just kind of hangs on for a really long time. It's more painful later on than just dealing with it now. For those that you've you've done, you know, harm to or uh someone that you've lied to.

SPEAKER_04 36:09

It's the fear of the unknown um that I bet that a lot of people feel when when a lie tends to go on longer than it should be. Um and I'm not gonna say that I get it or I understand it. Um however I get it, you know.

SPEAKER_05 36:29

I I when you cross a threshold too at some point, yeah where it's like you almost feel like if I if I don't tell the truth by this point, I'm just stuck with this. Like I've got it's almost like there's a lady at the bagel shop that we go to that talks to us every single time we're in there, right? Like she asks about our kids, she talks about how big they're getting because we've been going there since you know we first moved here. So um she's known us pre-asher. I don't know her name. But it's been too long for me to ask. You know what I'm saying? And so now it's like, hey, how are you? You know, but I can never go in with the name. It's not being fake, man. She's like, you know, I'm so nervous to ask her name, but like in the same way on a much deeper level, though. Like when you get tied up in a lie for too long, you almost feel like you just have to kind of take it and roll now because you're worried, what what is the fallout here? You know, I've been I've been telling this lie for seven years, like I don't know what's gonna happen. You know, it's like, and there's still so much freedom and the truth.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Yeah, tell me one time something really good came out of a lie, anyway. Yeah, you know, even if you look at the Hebrew maid servants and stuff, people figured it out. Right. I mean, it wasn't like people weren't gonna find out, they were just they were just buying time. So I think God in some way tolerated, used that. God works all things together for good, even sometimes our sin. Um, but ultimately in that, I I know their intention was was protection. Um, but in that there's just nothing that a lie just ultimately you say, man, I'm sure glad I lied in this thing. Yeah it's just it's just not good, especially to your mate. I mean, you your your husband, your wife, your kids, your immediate family, just be honest and come clean.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Well, and you know, lying along with all of these commandments is by living outside of them, we're living outside of the design that God had created. You know, if we hold any anyone uh uh above God or we replace God, that's living outside of his design. If we murder, that's living outside of his design. If we tell lies, that's living outside of his design, because his design is truth, his design is that he is the only God, his design is that we are to be fruitful and multiply and have domain over uh uh over the earth. And so, so this is how God has designed it and set it up. Sometimes we may not agree with it, sometimes we may not like it, but um it's very important that we that we live in step and in congruence with God's design.

SPEAKER_04 39:17

So we live in a world where people are constantly asking what's true. But the good news of the gospel is that truth isn't just an idea, it's a person. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The enemy traffics and deception. Jesus offers freedom. The enemy wants you to hide, but Jesus invites you into the light. The enemy tells you every day that your failures define you, but Jesus says his grace is greater than your failures. So this week, don't just tell the truth to others. Be honest with yourself, be honest before God, and remember the truth that saves us isn't that we're good enough, it's that Jesus is. Gentlemen, see you next week.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

We believe a life built on truth is a life that transforms everything. To stay connected, share this message, subscribe, or visit us online at Kinnesoft First.church. We'll see you next time. Keep building your life on truth.