Lies & Dishonesty

Strife and separation

Once again, the truth in scripture amazes me. This time, my precious wife (it’s our anniversary today, put out a verse that simply leapt off the page and hit me. Listen to this – “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.” Proverbs 16:28. Is there a difference between dishonesty and lying ?? Why do people whisper rather than speaking out clearly??

Is there a difference between dishonesty and lying?? Not really except that dishonesty covers more than just speech. Amos 8:4-7 puts it this way “Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, and make the poor of the land fail, Saying: “ When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit, That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?” The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “ Surely I will never forget any of their works. “ This is dishonesty.

A typical example of dishonesty in speech is when someone tells you something but not everything. They invariably miss out the parts that do not suit their point of view. Oddly enough, politicians are fond of this sort of speech. Some call it ‘spin-doctoring’, some call it less than honest, others call it lying – except that the speaker hasn’t told a lie. Everything he said was true – he just didn’t tell you all the truth. That, to me at least, is dishonesty rather than lying. A lie is simply something that is not true which is told with the intent to deceive.

Why do people whisper rather than speaking out clearly?? To my mind this is easier to answer. People whisper because they do not want you to hear what they are saying. Why? Several reasons spring to mind. They are ashamed of what they are saying. They are not sure about the truth of it. They know you would be offended or hurt if you heard them say it. Let me state this as a fact – ALL gossip starts with whispering. Gossip is the bane of our lives because it is ‘tittle-tattle’, it is rumour, it can be scandal, it can be outright lies. It almost certainly defames someone, hurts someone, hurts their family, or career, or both.

Back to Proverbs 16:28 “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.” So does dishonesty spread strife and how does a whisperer separate friends? Of course they do. People who have been dealt with or spoken to dishonestly are nearly always angry and offended – often their pride is hurt too which only serves to deepen the wound. Such people will seek retribution for their injury. The same applies to whisperers. Those about whom a whisper was started will almost certainly end up offended, hurt, wounded, and angry. Friends, families, careers and even lives have been badly affected by the whisperer – especially by whispers of scandal.

Church, saints, the Word of God says to stay clear of all whispers, of all dishonesty. In fact, it goes as far as saying that our speech and actions should be edifying and encouraging – always building our brothers and sisters up and NOT tearing them down. If we, by our speech and actions, are no better than the world, how can we expect them to take any notice of the Christianity that so many of us loudly profess.

Actually, our speech and actions too often make a mockery of Jesus. We show ourselves to be hypocrites – “whitewashed sepulchres” Jesus called us. Let us keep our speech wholesome, positive, encouraging, and edifying – all the time.