The Big Lie

In the current discussion, it has become fashionable to talk about big lies versus little ones, small misrepresentations of truth as opposed to full scale deceptions. In couching things this way, it is commonly stated that the greatest promise one can make is to his/her God, and the second greatest is to his/her spouse.

While we would not agree that there are different degrees of lying (see the facing page), it is clear that those two promises or vows hold a degree of significance that others may not, i.e. if a person will lie about those, they are likely to lie about most anything. The promises to love and serve God or to be bound to a spouse for life carry with them a weight which few other promises do.

For instance, the promise to serve God carries with it the idea of complete and utter devotion to Him. God asks us for all and is not content with half-hearted service (see 1 Kings 18:21; Rev. 3:15-16), so to commit to Him in word alone is to lie to God. Jesus, in His picture of the judgment in Matthew 25, dealt with those who are deceptive about their service to Him, saying, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me" (Matt. 25:41-43).

The Lord said those who are spoken to in this manner will respond with the question, "When?" They will claim never to have seen the Lord in this manner, but Jesus responds, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me" (v. 45). The lie is in not doing what they said they would do when they committed to Christ in the first place.

Peter is an obvious example of the kind of lie normally associated with breaking a promise to God. Having heard Jesus proclaim they would all desert Him at His betrayal, Peter said, "Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away" (Matt. 26:33). Even after Jesus told him he would deny Him three times, Peter still said, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You" (v. 35). We know that Peter then denied Jesus three times, even cursing that he did not know Him (vv. 69-75). The point is, while he was in the presence of the Lord, with no threat to his own well-being, it was easy to "stand up for Jesus." When the going was rocky, however, he found that he did not keep his promise.

Peter's story has a better ending; he repented, preached the word boldly and, by all accounts, died in service to his Lord. Still, others have made great claims to stand for God, only to forsake Him forever over some small matter. We would do well, when we think we stand, to "take heed lest we (he) fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). When one commits to God but fails to follow through, he is a hypocrite, and there is no place for him in God's kingdom.

However, the possibility exists that we may not see the hypocrite for what he is. It is possible for someone to fool all but God in pretending to be His servant. Perhaps that is why the marriage vow stands so tall among earthly promises. It is less simple to pretend to be the kind of husband or wife we promised to be, for sooner or later, most are found out.

In particular, adultery usually involves a compounding of lies and deceit until it is virtually impossible to conceal. Once discovered, the offender's true character is revealed as one who cannot be trusted in the important things, much less that which seems minor.

How serious is such a deception in the marriage vow? Consider that only for this reason does God permit the innocent party to divorce (Matthew 19:9). Deception in this area disgusts God to the point where He will allow that which He hates.

No there are not big lies and little lies, but there are certainly areas of life where one who lies proves himself to be willing to lie about any other aspect of life. The hypocrite in his lack of service to God is one, and the adulterer another. And God has no place for either (Matthew 23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)..