Is It Okay
to Lie?
Last week’s sermon sparked a church discussion about
lying. Scripture says that God detests liars. When describing those who
will ultimately be judged in the lake of fire, Jesus includes:
“… the cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who
practice magic arts, the idolaters and
all liars - their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur…”
(Rev. 21:8)
But could it be permissible—even right—for us to
sometimes not
tell the truth?
Corrie Ten Boom’s family helped many Jews escape the
WWII Nazi Holocaust. Their home was eventually raided and her entire
family imprisoned. Corrie was miraculously released shortly after her
sister died at Ravensbruck. She is an inspiration of courage… but what
about the fact that she lied over and over to the Nazis when asked if
she knew where Jews were hiding?
Absolute ideology has fallen on hard times.
Transforming lying from vice to virtue is representative of a national
cultural shift. To the modern American, wrong is not always wrong, and
right is not always right. Therefore, lying is not always wrong, and
telling the truth is not always right. It’s called moral relativism.
Trust and integrity are compromised in every
relationship where lies are injected:
-
Family and spouses - We must be able to depend on
our family members, especially our spouses.
-
Political process - Our government becomes
suspect.
-
Media - Without non-biased reporting, “the news”
is viewed with skepticism.
-
Business relationships - There used to be a
time when a handshake closed the deal.
In an instance such as the Nazis where lying
may be the only possible way to prevent a horrible evil, the
circumstances would be somewhat similar to the lie of Rahab in the Book
of Joshua. Proponents
of lying often point to her in their debate.
A prostitute,
Rahab hid Israelite
spies in her room. When asked if she’d seen them, Rahab said,
“They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t
know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with
them.”
(Joshua 2:4-5)
The Bible commends her
faith, but God never
condones the lie. Despite a “positive” outcome, I can’t find anywhere in
scripture where it says sometimes lying is the right thing to do. But in
an evil world, and a desperate situation, could it be right to commit a
lesser evil by lying, in order to prevent a much greater evil?
Such instances are extremely rare. It is unlikely
that the vast majority of people in human history will ever face a
situation of such extreme action. The contemplation of such a situation
can be a slippery slope on its own. If we can justify lying to the
Nazis, can we justify lying in other situations?
Defending dishonesty always makes it easier to
be dishonest.
The biblical prohibitions against lying are absolute.
And if it’s okay to lie in some situations, don’t you think God would
have said so?
Rahab’s lie precluded God’s opportunity to
supernaturally intervene as He has done so many times. Assuming that it
would have been “bad” for the spies to have been found, is a shallow
assumption. God often uses what seems tragic to us to work great good.
Therefore, Rehab’s lie does not prove that lying is acceptable to God.
However, we are still left to wonder what would have
resulted in truthful responses from the German, Dutch, and French who
bravely tried to save the Jews from extermination.
“In darkness God’s truth shines most clear.” Corrie
Ten Boom
|