While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’
One of the things that people tend to do a lot, and not even always realize it or think they would be caught, is lying. Sometimes people will think that a small little lie couldn’t hurt anyone. Or maybe someone has a secret that they don’t want anyone to know about. No matter what, lying is not a good idea. Look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.
We think that when we lie, we are only hiding the truth from the person we are lying to. This is bad enough, but much more is going on. We are lying to ourselves and, most importantly, we are lying to God. We usually don’t think anyone will know but He always knows. He knew Ananias and Sapphira were lying about how much they sold their land for, and He impressed this on the apostles. It came out but they kept trying to lie and the consequences were extreme.
Honesty is always important. When we are honest with each other, and ourselves, God knows this too. God knows when our hearts in the right place. He knows when we have a heart of repentance. He always knows. If we aren’t, He will make it come out in some way. Even if it isn’t discovered, a lie leads to only one end. That is not an end I want to experience. I don’t think any of us do.
Before we speak, we must ask ourselves, is this honest? We need to think very hard before saying something that is not true. Think about what consequence we are willing and ready to face.
Remember, He is watching, and He knows.