Lying for Advantage

lying

“Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel” (Proverbs 20:17).

Listening to the radio a few days ago, the hosts were asking each other, “What was the last lie you told?” Most of the answers were what they referred to as little white lies. For example, one man had gotten an email, and not responded. When his co-worker asked him about it, he lied and said he hadn’t got it. So, the other man backtracked, found the original email and resent it. Even though the man actually had gotten the email.

All of the confessed lies had a similar motivation. They were told to gain an advantage. To cover up a transgression, to put oneself in a more favorable light, or to shift fault. This is the primary allure of deception, and why “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man.”

In the example above, I thought to myself that the man had better hope his employer, co-worker (or his friends) were not listening to the show! If the lie were to be found out, there would be consequences. Anger, loss of trust and reputation, and possibly repercussions from the employer. “But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.”

Don’t lie! The advantage gained may be “sweet” for the moment, but the [eternal] cost is too steep!

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Author: Stan Cox

Minister, West Side church of Christ since August of 1989 ........ Editor of Watchman Magazine (1999-2018 Archives available online @ http://watchmanmag.com) ........ Writer, The Patternists: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatternists