Telling Truth from a Lie

“It’s mine!” the kindergarten girls both screamed at the same time.

“She took it. It’s mine.”

“No, it’s mine. I had it. I brought it from home.”

I finally got them to stop talking and answer my questions one girl at a time. “Where did the eraser come from?  Who gave it to you?”  The answers to my questions yielded no definitive answer as to whom the eraser belonged.

“Janie, do you remember when we talked about lying? I told you that the most terrible thing about telling a lie was that afterward I would never know if you were telling me the truth. It makes me sad, but you have lied to me several times. Josie has never lied to me. So right now I am choosing to believe Josie and she will get the eraser.”

As an elementary school teacher I often need to try to discern if a child is lying to me. It is not easy to tell unless I have caught the child in the act of doing something. Then I must make a decision based on the past choices and character of the child. If it is out of character for them to lie to me then I make the choice to believe them.

We face lies everyday right in our mind. Our enemy is called the father of lies, and he practices that lying every day trying to get us off track.

The purpose of Satan’s lies is to get us away from God in some way. The lies cause us to doubt God, doubt ourselves, or doubt other people. In each case it derails us from the purpose of God in our lives.

How do we discern whether the voices in our head are true or not true? If we are unsure we need to look to the character of the possible authors. If it matches the character of God, and the Word of God, it is likely God. If it matches the character of Satan, it is likely Satan.

For example:

Thought: I am a failure. I mess up everything. God couldn’t possibly love me.

Character and past actions of God:

1. Jesus said He is the truth. (John 14:6)
2. God created me.
3. He showed love and compassion for the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:4-11), and for the Samaritan woman (John 4:4-42)
4. He healed the sick (Matthew 4:23-24) including a man who was an invalid for 38 years (John 5:3-11), a woman with a bleeding issue (Luke 8:43-48), and Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:49-56)
5. He told us to love other people, even those who are enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)
6. He knew ahead of time what kind of person I would be, and still loves me. (Psalm 139)
7. He gave me my abilities. Compare His response to Moses when Moses said he couldn’t speak eloquently. “Who gave man his mouth? … Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” ( Exodus 4:11-12)
8. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
9. “For He chose us … before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)

Character and past actions of Satan

1. He is the father of lies. (John 8:44)
2. He lied to Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:4-5)
3. He accuses us before God day and night (Rev. 12:10, Job 1:9-11)
4. As a roaring lion he seeks whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8)

So, thoughts that I am a failure and God couldn’t possibly love me line up with Satan’s character, not God’s character. Therefore, I know it is a lie and my job is to resist the lie.