[Darris McNeely] Could 2015 be called “The Year of Lying”? I’ve been recently going through some preparation for a presentation that I have to make about the ninth commandment, which says that you shall not bear false witness. In other words, you shall not lie. I’ve really been amazed, going through those Scriptures, at how much the Bible emphasizes the truth as opposed to a lie and how much deception it talks about. And of course, as we look around our world today, I think we can understand that there is a lot of lying that does take place in our world today.

It’s very sobering to think, as I was preparing this talk, I’ve been thinking about, even, do I tell lies when I don’t understand perhaps or do I believe lies inadvertently that might come my way? How diligent am I to make sure that I’m always telling the truth, or that I’m believing and searching out in order to understand and to know the truth in whatever I might be hearing or reading in today’s popular culture, in today’s world?

And then I ran across this article that raised the question – 2015: A Year of Lying. It could be called that because there are so many high-profile politicians that are vying for public office in the United States as we’re entering into a presidential year. And there’s also been a number of different scandals that have been highlighted in the government and in the media that have been shown to be people telling lies, cover-ups, things like that. There’s also been a great deal of lies that have been perpetrated in other fields of personal behavior, even in finance. I was reading also about a very large automotive company, Volkswagen, who was caught fabricating its engine emissions data, and what a scandal that has caused for that particular carmaker. Even large financial institutions have been caught in, at least, turning a blind eye to lies by other large powers in the world today in which they have to do business.

So, there’s a lot of lying that does go on and it does get a lot of press, but what is probably the most disheartening part of this is that how accepted this has become now. Lying is a part of life. In fact, people who are caught in lies are judged more now for how they handle the response and the reaction to it in the public debate rather than whether or not they indeed are telling the truth or are caught in a lie. It’s how well they handle whatever it is that might be involved.

Well, look, you and I have a responsibility to prove all things, to hold fast to what is good, and what is true. God’s Word tells us that His Word is truth. Lying should not be a part of our life, nor should we believe the lies in whatever form – political, economic, even religious. And we should always make sure that our lives reflect the truth of God, because lies eventually will come home and they will bare the tale.

There’s a proverb that says, in Proverbs 19:5, something for us all to think about as we look back over recent months and look ahead and even look ahead to improving our own lives. It says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free.” No one can really expect that the lies will disappear from the public debate, but we can expect that in our own lives, our own personal lives, lies will disappear. Let’s take that admonition to heart, and let’s make the coming months a more truthful period for our own life.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.