Lying and Deceiving
Is a little white lie okay? Is there even something like a white lie? We can make things very difficult for ourselves with these questions. God, the One Who is called the Truth, is very clear about lying and deceiving.
God Does Not Want Us to Deceive
In Acts 5 we read about Ananias and Sapphire, who wanted to cover up the truth for impure reasons.
1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphire, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter 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 5:1-3 (NIV)
Withholding a portion of the proceeds is not the problem, but the dishonesty about it is. It’s about being honest. Ananias gave the impression that he gave everything he had received to the church. Peter says: “You have deceived the Holy Spirit.”
An online encyclopedia says: Deceiving is being deliberately unfair to someone. It is mean, for it brings other church members in a wrong position. They could be impressed of the generosity, for instance. It was also a deliberate act, for the wife of Ananias knew about it.
Peter says: someone who is intentionally dishonest within the church is deceiving the Holy Spirit. So let us ‘deliberately’ be honest with each other. Deceiving others, out of fear of people, or out of need for confirmation, is unnecessary. Who seeks confirmation of God, never has to pretend to be someone they’re not.
God Does Not Want Us to Lie
The story continues:
Acts 5:4 (NIV)
... You have not lied just to human beings but to God.Acts 5:4 (NIV)
Peter emphasises that Ananias was committing fraud against God, Himself, not just against humans. The New International Version of the bible speaks of lying to God. The Greek language uses a different word, but they are related. Lying and deceiving are from the same group of words. Deceiving is something someone does intentionally; lying is often a response when asked about the truth.
By being dishonest to each other, we are trying to deceive the Holy Spirit and we are lying to God. That is quite a statement Peter gives us. However, the next verse shows us that Peter is not the only one who takes this very seriously.
God Does Not Want to be Tempted
God seems to agree with Peter’s conclusion. The acting of Ananias and Sapphire has serious consequences.
Acts 5:5 (NIV)
This study is not about how and when God punishes us. But it should be clear to us how our attitude should be towards each other, and therefore towards God. In Acts 5:9 Peter asks Ananias how he dared to test the Holy Spirit. We test the Holy Spirit by being dishonest.
So let’s be honest and reliable towards each other. Then our actions will resemble Jesus the most. John 8:32 says: “The truth will set you free.”
