LIES, Are they Sins?

LIES, Are they Sins?

Eileen Renders

To some extent, I believe we all have our weaknesses. I am referring to areas in our personality where we are more prone, vulnerable to the temptations of Satan. In examining a few reasons behind one’s lying, we can agree that they are said to deceive someone. We might believe that our lie will save us from judgment or punishment for a wrong that we have committed. Or they may be lies said to receive cred, or adulation for something that was accomplished by someone other than ourselves. Oftentimes, we might even have an innocent individual pay for a crime he/she has not committed through wrongful accusation. Giving false witness is a crime. Therefore, lying is not only something that can become habitual, it can also be a crime.

JOHN: 8:37-44 Jesus refers to Satan as “the father of lies.” In John 8:37-44, Jesus says, “Your father is the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. From the beginning, he was a murderer and has not stood for the truth.” The Catholic Bible quotes Jesus as having said this to the Jews. Furthermore, in John 8:44, The Pharisees’ desire to kill Jesus (John 37) aligns with Satan’s destructive nature, emphasizing the moral and spiritual nature between God’s truth and Satan’s destruction.

Many individuals may begin at a very young age to lie. They may reach for a piece of candy in the Grocery store with mom, and eat it before mom can pay for it, and then lie and say they did not do that. It often appears as innocent or funny. They have not yet reached the age of reason to distinguish right from wrong.

However, the stage has been set, they were not corrected, there was no punishment, and it was fairly easy. Therefore, with a little temptation, stealing and lying may be repeated, and go hand-in-hand.

Let us, as parents, not punish young children, but begin to tell them that they must ask, and not take. Show them how we must pay for goods at the Checkout counter.

If we realize that we are easy targets for Satan’s temptations to lie, and feel as though it does not hurt anyone, let’s think again on that matter, as it usually does affect another in some way or another. Lying in and of itself is a form of deceit, and can lead to or be associated with stealing, and other sins. Lying, therefore, is a sin.