Lying, instead of Trusting

 We are all tempted to lie to others at various times and for various reasons. We think that if we lie, we can get our way, or we can stay out of trouble for something we did wrong. Usually, one lie leads to another. Also, once we get caught in a lie, others don't know if they can trust what we say. The Lord never wants us to lie, but to always tell the whole truth.

Abram was given great promises from the Lord when God made a covenant with him. The Lord promised to make him into a great nation and to bless Him well. However, Abram lied to try to save his life when he had to go to Egypt during a famine. (Genesis 12:11,13) He knew the Egyptians might try to take his wife, Sarai, and kill him since she was very beautiful, so he told her to tell them she was his sister, not his wife. This has a few lessons for us.

We need to take God at His word when He gives us a promise. It should cause us to trust Him more, because He always keeps His word. We should never allow fear to grip us, so that we fail to have faith in the Lord. We must not follow our flesh that tells us to lie. That is not ever the solution. Believing God and His Word will always work out for good for us, so we must just tell the truth.

Also, we must not deceive others by telling half truths. Sarai was Abram's half sister, so in a way it wasn't a lie to say she was his sister. However, it was a lie, because Abram told her to say that to deceive the Egyptians. We must not leave out the real truth by using our words carefully to conceal it. Jesus is the "Truth," and as His followers we must speak the truth to others.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 13-17.