Proverbs 20:17 - Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
Several years ago there was a comedy movie on television where a couple of bad guys thought it would be a great idea to kidnap the 10 year old son of a rich family and hold him for ransom. Little did they know that the boy was not only smart and resourceful, but mischievous himself. At first the boy wanted to escape, but soon he had fun playing pranks on his capturers. In the end, the bad guys dropped off the boy at the police station, and turned themselves in to protect themselves from the little boy. What they thought was a great idea turned out to be a terrible idea; they got more than they bargained for.
One of the bad habits we have become comfortable with is the telling of “white lies”. We believe that if we tell someone a lie (kidnap the truth), with a “good purpose” behind it, its okay. And a good portion of the time, the consequences turn out how we want them or “not that bad” (sweet to the taste). The danger comes when lying becomes part of our daily walk.
We tend to start telling “white lies” to those closest to us, people with whom we interact with the most. After we become comfortable, white lies become a habit. Eventually, the truth behind the lie is discovered. This damages our trust, integrity and relationship with the people we lied to. The recipient of the lie may not fully express how they feel, but it can take years to recover their trust. What started out as “sweet” ends up leaving us with a “mouth full of gravel”.
The word deceit means:
the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of
misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating:
Proverbs 6:16 – 19 speaks of things the Lord hates. Lying is one of them.
The definition not only refers to the concealment or distortion of truth, but it addresses the
purpose behind the distortion: to mislead, to be duplicitous, to fraud or cheat someone. There is an element of intentionality in deceit.
Have you gotten in the habit of telling “white lies” to get out of an embarrassing or
uncomfortable situation? Have you told a “white lie” to cover up the fact that you didn’t do
something you should have done or vise versa? Are you hoping that the lie you told doesn’t
come back to haunt you?
Referring to a lie as a “white lie” may make it sound better, but actually it’s like putting “lipstick on the pig of sin”. Don’t get into the habit of telling “white lies”…they always fade to black. They will turn bitter in your stomach and the stomach of someone you love.