Liar Liar, Pants on Eternal Fire

The Bible tells us that all human beings are liars (Psalm 116:11), and that the spiritual father of liars is the devil himself.

Here's how Jesus Christ described Satan: "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)

Though most folks consider lying to be more of an annoyance than anything else, it's repugnant to God. Furthermore, the Bible reveals that eternal damnation is the destiny of all unrepentant liars: "Outside (of Heaven) are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (Revelation 22:15)

Predictably, lying is encouraged by some world religions such as Islam and Judaism when falsehood advances the cause. Lying in Islam is called Taqiyya which can be used against infidels for the purpose of deceiving them.

Judaism permits falsehood for the purpose of diplomacy rather than deceit. For example? Judaism allows a person to complement someone who cooked a bad meal rather than insult and embarrass them. Certainly, it's considered bad manners to insult other folks when it involves telling the truth. Some people call diplomatic lies "white lies." But they're lies nonetheless.

Those sorts of lies probably won't condemn you to eternal damnation. But lying for the purpose of concealing criminal or immoral acts will. Lying for the purpose of cheating someone out of money or material possessions will. And lying for purpose of preventing someone's salvation by denying that Jesus Christ is the only "Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) to eternal life, will really get you into serious trouble with God.

The real reason why people lie is because they think they can get away with it. Most people lie out of fear because they've got something to hide. And secular researchers have discovered that children begin to lie as early as 2-3 years of age.

Professor Robert Feldman of the University of Massachusetts says this:

We're really trained to be deceptive. If we're not, if we're totally truthful all the time that's not a good thing, there's a price to be paid for that. We don't like people who tell us the truth all the time. The lies that we accept from politicians right now are lies that are seen as acceptable because it's what we want to hear, like a spouse saying that an outfit flatters you. 

Politicians are considered the worst sort of liars. Feldman accurately claims that politicians love to tell people what they want to hear. That's designed to get votes. However, when politicians fail to deliver on their promises, then reality sets in. By then, it's usually too late.

Who can forget Barack Obama's now legendary lie? "If you like your health insurance, you can keep it." That was designed to sell his catastrophic health care bill that forced many people to acquire health insurance coverage they didn't want and couldn't afford. Yet despite that lie and a myriad of others, Obama is still held in high esteem by his loyal followers.

Professor Kang Lee of the University of Toronto states that "there's a high cost in everyday society — a loss of trust that is difficult to regain — when someone is discovered to be lying." There are also costs to the liar, he said, noting studies that measure the effect of deception on the body and brain and how much energy it takes to create and maintain a lie.

The apostle Paul warned that falsehood will flourish in the last days preceding the return of Jesus Christ: "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

We're living in the time that Paul prophesied of. Millions of people embrace lies such as evolution, global warming and false religions (Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism etc.) without investigating them for evidence. And why don't they investigate them? Because they've embraced delusion.

What happens to people who reject the truth to embrace lies? Paul wrote: "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

That's the real tragedy of falsehood. Or, as the old saying goes: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn't true.