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NASB | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person). [Ex 23:1; Prov 19:9; 24:28] |
Subject: Is it always a sin to lie? |
Bible Note: 'White Lies and Other Deceptions' by Gregory Koukl ____________________ "...we're not obliged to tell everything we know." ____________________ 'Is lying ever right? Is trespassing? Is violence? Some thoughts to help you sharpen your ability to make ethical decisions. 'I think lying is wrong. However, we have to be clear on what constitutes lying, that is, immoral deception. It seems that not all deceptions are immoral. Did you ever make a fake while playing basketball? Isn't such a feint a deception? It is, but I don't think most people would consider it immoral, even though it was, in fact, deceptive. 'There are other examples. We dress to flatter our figures instead of being entirely truthful about our physical shape. We wear hairpieces if our hair is thinner than we'd like to show. There are times we're not forthcoming with all the truth. More could be said, but we withhold information. 'So it seems reasonable to say there are "deceptions" we wouldn't really consider immoral--faking in basketball, trying to dress in a flattering way, or not being forthcoming with all the information we might have. 'Incidentally, I don't think Jesus was always forthright. Take, for example, the woman at the well (John 4). Jesus had a goal He was not immediately forthright about. I don't see this as manipulation, though, but as sensitivity to the moment. If Jesus wasn't always entirely forthright in some cases, yet we know He never committed any sin, then that means it isn't necessarily a sin if you're not forthright about everything. 'Take this example. You come into a store and want to get the best price for something you intend to buy. You've done some research, but you don't let on up front. Instead, as a tactical move you play stupid. There is a kind of deception here, one could argue, but I think you'd be hard pressed to call it sinful. It seems we're not obliged to tell everything we know. 'On the one hand, there are blatant deceptions that are clearly sinful. Then there also seems to be a category of deceptions that don't rise to the category of sin. Then you have, in the middle, situations I would call moral dilemmas. These are more difficult judgment calls. 'A moral dilemma is when you must choose one of two things, but either thing would be wrong to do when taken on its own. Do you endanger a human life, or do you tell a lie? If you choose to tell the truth, you may do right by telling the truth, but it seems you do wrong by exposing a human being to serious harm. If you protect the human being by lying, well, you've saved a life, but told a lie. That is a moral or ethical dilemma. 'There are a couple of different ways Christians have approached this historically. One is to claim there really is no such thing as an ethical dilemma. Some will say you should never lie, you should always tell the truth, and let God worry about the consequences. 'What if you see a woman run into an alley to escape someone who's trying to kill her, and they ask you, "Where is she?" What do you do? Do you send them on a wild goose chase to protect the woman's life? Or do you lead them to their victim? 'Some would say you are morally obliged to tell exactly where she's hiding and let God take care of it. But that option can cut in both directions. Why not protect her by lying and let God take care of it by forgiving the lie? Which do you choose? This question is at the heart of all ethical dilemmas.' (To read the entire article, go to: www.str.org/free/commentaries/ ethics/lie.htm) Makarios: Thank you for posting an excellent reply to this question. In my opinion, when people choose not to lie and their choice leads to the murder of innocent men, women and children (as in the time of Pharoah or Hitler), these people are giving a higher priority to their own "righteousness" than they are to human life. These people have chosen to be as wise as doves and as harmless as serpents. Who says we are obliged to tell everything we know? Grace to you, Kalos |