“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  
Luke 6:43-45   

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The other day, my best friend asked, “Do these pants look okay?” I thought they looked horrendous because of the shoes he insisted on wearing daily. But I said, “Yep, honey, they’re okay.”

Is there any time a lie is okay? I wasn’t sure, so I looked it up in the Bible. For discussion sake, I  found that Rahab lied to the King to save the spies in Joshua 2:4. Throughout history, I would say that those who protected innocent Jewish people hidden behind trapped doors from being killed by the Gestapo lied for good reason. The reality is though, rarely are we in a sitaution as dire as Rahab’s or the Jewish people in World War II. Nowhere in the Bible is lying considered the right thing to do and in fact, it is warned against in the commandments (Exodus 20:17).

I like to think truth is a value I hold because I know it is what God desires from all of us—governmental leaders, church leaders, and our families. And what God desires, we also should want for our lives. Knowing myself, I see my tendency to embellish a story because of my love of writing fiction. Tall tales have always been a favorite of mine. 

And right in that last sentence, I tried to justify myself. Did you read it?

So, I must have the Holy Spirit help me with that side of myself. My heart needs to be fed a good diet of Scripture to prevent me from lying and telling partial truths. How about you? Do you ever struggle with outright lies—white lies or half-truths? We are all works in progress.

I have found the Bible faithful in my life—for many things, but especially to live a truth-filled life—and I try to read it daily. The more we fill our hearts and minds with the truth of God’s Word, the more likely our mouths will speak of the truths stored up in there—see today’s Scripture passage.

I finally did kindly and truthfully tell my best friend he needed new shoes.

Next Steps

Spend some time reflecting on the words your mouth speaks. What do you find? Prayerfully submit your observations to God.

Do you notice that the devotionals back up the message presented on Sundays? I need this repetition and theme reinforcement. Our leaders listen to God—from the elders to the teachers to the weekly planners. If you are new to Willow, take a step and sign up for Discover Willow at your campus.