LYING TO IMPRESS DOES NOT WORK AS PLANNED

PROCLAMATION

“David said to the young man who brought him the report, ‘Where are you from?’  ‘I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,’ he answered.  David asked him, ‘Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy The Lord’s anointed?’  Then David called one of his men and said, ‘Go, strike him down!’ So he struck him down and he died.  For David had said to him, ‘Your blood be on your own head.  Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed The Lord’s anointed.’”  2 Samuel 1:13-16 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

King Saul committed suicide after he was wounded and realized that he was losing the battle to the Philistines. (1 Samuel 31:3-5)  This young man brought the news to David that Saul was dead. (2 Samuel 1:4)  He was an outsider, an Amalekite, and sought to gain favor with David by lying and saying that he had killed Saul. (2 Samuel 1:6-10)  He gave David Saul’s crown and bracelet to help make his lie seem more believable. (2 Samuel 1:10)  He lied but it did not work out as he had planned.  Instead of being happy with his report, David tore his clothes, mourned and wept. (2 Samuel 1:11-12)  Then he ordered one of his men to kill the young man.

APPLICATION

People lie for all kinds of reasons.  We usually lie to impress others, to make ourselves appear better, more important, or more whatever than we actually are.  Whether it is “a little white lie” or “a big Black lie”, a lie is a lie, and they all are sinful.  It has been said that when we tell one lie, we must then tell a second lie to tie up the loose ends of the first one.  This usually leads to another lie.  “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” (Sir Walter Scott, 1808)  The Bible teaches us not to tell lies.  “Thou shall not bear false witness … “ (Exodus 20:16, Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:9, Luke 18:20, and Romans 13:9)  All lies come from the devil.  The devil is a liar, and he is the father of lies. (John 8:44)  Don’t tell lies.  One day we will have to give an account for everything that we thought, said, and did, (Luke 16:2) and for every idle word that we spoke. (Matthew 12:36)