Thinking about our Lord’s teaching on truthfulness in Matthew 5:33-37, I was led to this article, by Paul Carter.

What follows is a summary:

1. What Does Not Constitute A Lie?

(a) A simple mistake

Some people are better ‘historians’ than others.  They recall, with a high degree of precision, names, dates and times.  Others of us are not so gifted in the area.  We might get a detail wrong, and be corrected by someone with a more reliable memory (our wives, perhaps?).

The good news is, our heavenly Father knows and understands our weakness:

Psalm 103:13–14 – ‘As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 14 For he knows what we are made of; he realizes we are made of clay.’

(b) Selective sharing

To be sure, we should tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.  But it is not always necessary or right (except in a court of law) to tell the whole truth.  To constantly offload everything that was on our mind would be tedious at best.

This applies especially in sensitive situations.

When Samuel was instructed by the Lord to anoint a successor to David, it would have been perilous for him to announce his intention outright.  So he was told to say that he had ‘come to sacrifice to the Lord (1 Sam 16:2-3).

(c) A change of mind

We may change our mind because of changing circustances, or because we think better (or are persuaded to think better) of our former opinion.

In John 7:8-10, Jesus says that he is not going up to the feast.  But, afterwards, he does go, ‘not publicly but in private’.  He had not accepted the reasons for going that had been suggested by his brothers, nor was he willing to go in the way they expected (publicly).  But there were other reasons why he should go, and that he should go privately.

2. What Does Constitute A Lie?

(a) Stating as fact what you know to be false

This would be a clear offence agasint the 9th commandment (Ex 20:16).

In 1 Kings 21 Ahab, in an attempt to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard, contrives to have two men falsely accuse Naboth of blasphemy.  The accusations were believed, Naboth was stoned to death, and Ahab got his vineyard.  But through Elijah, the Lord showed how serious was the sin of Ahab (1 Kings 21:19).

In a day when a false accusation can travel in an instant round the globe via the internet, we will do well to heed the warning.

(b) Making a promise you don’t intend to keep

This is the immediate target of Jesus’ teaching in Mt 5:33-37.

Whereas the religious teachers of the day had intricate ways of reducing the force of oaths and vows, Jesus says, in effect: ‘For the children of the kingdom, all oaths should be unneccessary.  You shouldn’t need anything other than a simple “Yes” and “No”.

(c) Intentionally misleading or exaggerating

Note the cautionary tale of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 4:36-37; 5:1-5).  They were jealous of the praise heaped up Barnabas for his generosity, and sought the same reputation for themselves as sacrificial donors to the church while secretly keeping back money for themselves.  Their sin was not in keeping some money back, but in exaggerating their generosity.

We ourselves long to have others think well of us.  But where this involves exaggeration or our role or embellishment of our actions, it must been named as sin, and God’s forgiveness must be sought.