Craig Clouston

Lies

You belong to your father, the devil … for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44, 45

Larissa stood on the edge of the diving platform, asking herself, “Why did I lie?”
She had boasted to several girls at her new school that she could perform a one-and-one-half somersault off the ten-meter platform, the highest in the school’s aquatic center. Larissa had no idea that two of the girls in the group were on the school’s diving team.
To her surprise—and horror—they had asked for a demonstration. They thought it was great that the new girl was a proficient diver!
Well, she had boasted, and now it was either admit to the lie in shame or jump off the platform, revealing her inability to deliver on her claim.
Larissa decided she would rather jump and fail than admit she had lied. So, knees shaking violently, she threw herself off the platform, plunging to the water below. She managed to complete the first rotation of the somersault, but did not enter the water head first, as intended. Instead, Larissa landed on her stomach in what was commonly known as a belly flop.
Shaken, Larissa climbed from the pool to hear one of the girls declare, “I kinda figured you were lying; I can’t believe you went through with it.”
Ashamed, Larissa said, “I’m sorry I lied. I just wanted you to like me.”

†

In every case, lying is wrong and will only cause negative consequences. Once begun, another lie is usually perpetrated to prop up the first. Soon we find ourselves forgetting what we told to whom. So we continue to lie, building a precarious tower of lies, living in constant fear of being found out. And eventually all the props come crashing down.
As in Larissa’s case, Satan always fathers the first lie. He told Larissa that she would be rejected unless she lied about herself. Larissa desperate desire to be accepted by her new classmates became the vessel by which Satan tempted her. And by giving in to the temptation, Larissa painted herself into a corner and was caught in her lie.
Jesus says that when we lie, we belong to the devil. So the question is, “Do I care who I’m being used by?”

Prayer

“Lord, You are the truth. Lead my heart, my mind, and my mouth to always speak the truth. Amen.”