When I was young, I went with my friend and her mother to the grocery store. We spent some time in the floral department where my friend’s mom picked out a small plant to buy. Then she searched through the decorative pots until she found one that was a perfect fit for the plant. “Does this look nice?” she asked, and we both assured her it was fine.

When it came time to check out, the plant was still in the pot, so the cashier rang up the two items as one. My friend stepped in to correct her mistake. “I think those are two separate things,” she said, and the cashier thanked her for her honesty and rang up the items individually.

My friend’s mom smiled as if she was proud of her daughter’s integrity, but when we got to the car, it was a completely different story. “How could you do something so stupid?” she yelled at my friend. “We would have gotten that plant for free if you hadn’t opened your big mouth and told her they were priced separately! I should make you pay for it out of your own money so next time you’ll think before you speak!”

I was dumbfounded. I’d never seen this woman so angry before, and I couldn’t believe she was actually mad at my friend for being honest. Until then, I thought everyone tried to be truthful – especially adults.

What does the Bible say about lying?

Unfortunately, I’ve found this type of deception to be even more prevalent now that I’ve grown up. People who have already graduated from college still use their student IDs to get discounted movie tickets. Parents lie about their children’s ages to avoid paying for their meals at restaurants. Business owners save receipts for personal expenses in order to write them off on their taxes. Small and seemingly “innocent” lies show up so often that most have come to tolerate them and shrug them off as something everyone does anyway.

The Bible says that the devil is the “father of lies” and that when he lies, he “speaks his native language” (John 8:44 NIV). Most of us don’t consider ourselves to be liars about the “big” things in life. We are faithful to our spouses. We don’t shoplift. We don’t cheat in school. But when it comes to the “little” things, the temptation to fudge the truth is one we face every day, and sometimes, our half-truths and omitted facts seem so insignificant, we don’t even realize that it’s equivalent to lying.

As Christians, we’re to be honest in each and every circumstance – those that are in public, those that are in private, those that seem “big,” and those that seem “small.” “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Proverbs 12:19 NIV). Are honesty and integrity among the virtues for which you’re known by those close to you? What about by God? Does He, who sees all and knows all, also see the truth in you?

If we are being honest, many of us would have to say, probably not.

Q:  When do you find it difficult to be completely honest?