Passing the Ethics Test-Speaking Truth by Martin Wiles

Series: Passing the Ethics Test

She was in a precarious situation. Was it acceptable to lie?

The battle commander assembled his troops and made plans to defeat his quarry. Little did Rahab know she was part of the strategy but would be faced with an ethical dilemma in the process. The army’s incursion was delayed until a report from two spies was received…two spies who happened upon Rahab’s house. When the king sent sentries to capture them, Rahab hid them beneath piles of flax and said, They left the city at dusk, as the city gates were about to close, and I don’t know where they went (Joshua 2:5 NLT).

Rahab’s predicament is one which believers don’t unanimously agree on…Is it ever permissible to lie? Those hiding innocent Jewish families and questioned during Hitler’s Holocaust faced a similar quandary. While there may be extenuating circumstances when lying is permissible, passing the ethic’s test normally requires truth. Speaking the truth from sincere hearts (Psalm 15:2 NLT).

Believing the lie of Satan got Adam and Eve in trouble in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). God considered truth vital enough to include a commandment against lying (Exodus 20:16), and Jesus also deemed it important and donated it to his disciples (John 17:8).

I’ve been the recipient of lies from family, friends, and work associates. And if I think long enough, I’ll have to confess that I’ve told my share as well. Truth restores; lies divide and conquer. Relationships are ripped apart, businesses collapse, classes are failed, and God’s honor is tainted any time truth is compromised. When Ebenezer Scrooge attempted to use a giant candle snuffer to snuff out the ghost of Christmas past’s pictures, the ghost repeatedly shouted, “Truth lives.” And it does. Pass the ethic’s test by committing to tell the truth on every occasion.

Prayer: Holy Father, may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be always adorned with truth.

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