Bearing False Witness: the Sin of Lying
A priest told his parish, “Next week I plan to preach a sermon on the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want all of you to read Mark 17.” The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver the homily, the priest asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The priest said, “Mark only has sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying.”
When God delivered His Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, He made sure to include “Do not bear false witness” right on the stone tablets. This command comes right in the mix of commands against murder, theft, adultery, among others. God must take it very seriously. And He does. There is a reason for that.
“Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth,” St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:6. Our Lord Jesus Christ declared, “I am the Truth,” in John 14:6. Since He is the truth, and charity rejoices with the truth, He expects His disciples to be people of truth as well. In fact, to be opposed to truth is to be in league with the Devil, as Jesus Himself says in John 8:44, “He stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.” So here we see the sharp contrast: Jesus is the Truth, and Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Our allegiance ought to belong with Christ our King, not with the infernal dragon.
God does not lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2). In fact, 1 John 4:8 teaches, “God is charity.” And remember, St. Paul had taught that charity rejoices with the truth.1 John 4:6-7 further notes, “We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God.” So we see plainly from Sacred Scripture that we are called to know the distinction between truth and error (that which is not true, by definition, a lie). And that we are called to love one another because we are born of God and we know God, and charity is of God. And again, charity rejoices in the truth, not in iniquity or deceit.
God takes it so seriously that even in Acts 5, we have a story of a couple who lies to St. Peter, and our first Pope sternly reminds them that their sin was first and foremost against God Himself. Since it was an offense against Him, God proceeds to strike them dead. This is a serious issue we are dealing with, no matter how much our corrupted modern world has tried to convince us that it is not really that big a deal.
Today, lying is as easy as breathing, even in the form of little fibs or “white lies.” Our motivations for lying are multitude, even sometimes masked under good intentions. And we convince ourselves that it is perfectly normal since we are surrounded by it. According to psychologists, some of the reasons that people lie, or withhold the truth, are to avoid punishment, to get their way or obtain a favor, to not offend someone else or let someone else down, to win the esteem of others, to avoid embarrassment, to avoid an awkward situation, to exercise power over others, to protect their feelings and self esteem, and many more reasons.
It is truly one of the ways that the spirit of the world corrupts the virtue of Christians, and it is all the more a readily available forbidden fruit because we see it practiced from all walks of life and by others throughout our entire life experience. It feels very normal and common, so we rarely do not think twice about it. Or if we do, we quickly justify or excuse ourselves and brush it off. Studies reveal that an estimated 91% of Americans routinely and habitually lie daily, often several times each day. We lie to relatives, to friends, to coworkers, to strangers, even to ourselves. And yet lying objectively remains a sin which is an offense against God.
We are called to stand firm in the truth, difficult at times as it may be. There is a deep sense of vulnerability often in standing with the truth of a matter, but it is also a practice of heroic virtue and a step on the path to holiness. No matter what it costs us personally or how it is received by others, we ought always to strive to uphold truth and to not lie or deceive. Lying lips are called an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22). “Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies” (Psalm 5:6). Colossians 3:9 tells us, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” 1 Timothy 1:10 lists liars and perjurers in the same camp as the ungodly, the unholy, and the profane. Perhaps the most ominous message on this topic from Sacred Scripture comes from Apocalypse 21:8, which says, “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” On the opposite side of this image, we get the beautiful words of Psalm 118:30, “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments I have not forgotten.”
St. Thomas Aquinas taught, “Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another… as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth.” St. Augustine wrote, “A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving.” We ought to note here as well that this applies in the negative sense as well, meaning a lie consists in withholding a truth with the intention of deceiving.
Some will try to excuse their habitual sinful lying by appealing to an example that does not apply to them in their sin, such as this one: “A German soldier comes to your house in the 1940s and asks if you are hiding anyone there; you are hiding families there; so should you be up front and just turn them all in?” I am not delving into the distinction between prudent discretion and the sin of bearing false witness. The goal here is to expose the open wound for what it is because we are infected with this poison of lying for selfish reasons and trying to vindicate it every change we get. Lying to a boss about why you were late to work, or lying to a spouse regarding your whereabouts, or lying to a police officer to avoid a ticket, or lying to an attorney to get a larger settlement, or lying to a friend to either gain their approval or risk offending them; these are not the same situation as the question about lives at stake during a time of genocide. And even then, the prudent person sometimes knows how to be discreet in such a way without having to lie.
Let us turn to the Roman Catechism of Trent to see what is says regarding bearing false witness. Trent notes, “It is never allowed to have recourse to lies or deception, much less to perjury… In a word, lies of every sort are prohibited, especially those that cause grave injury to anyone, while most impious of all is a lie uttered against or regarding religion (heresy)… To deceive by a jocose (playful or humorous) lie, even though it helps or harms no one, is, notwithstanding, altogether unworthy; for thus the Apostle admonishes us: Putting away lying, speak ye the truth. This practice begets a strong tendency to frequent and serious lying, and from jocose lying men contract the habit of lying… It is sinful not only to speak, but to act deceitfully. Actions, as well as words, are signs of what is in our mind; and hence our Lord, rebuking the Pharisees, frequently calls them hypocrites… To all conscientious persons is addressed the divine command that in all their intercourse with society, in every conversation, they should speak the truth at all times from the sincerity of their hearts; that they should utter nothing injurious to the reputation of another, not even of those by whom they know they have been injured and persecuted.”
Trent continues, “The faithful should show how grievously lies and deceit offend God and how deeply they are hated by God. This he should prove from the words of Solomon: Six things there are which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, a deceitful witness that uttereth lies, etc. Who, then, can protect or save from severest chastisements the man who is thus the object of God's special hate?.. The tongue, which was before employed in giving praise and glory to God, afterwards, as far as it is able, by lying treats Him with ignominy and dishonour. Hence liars are excluded from a participation in the bliss of heaven. To David asking, Lord! who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? the Holy Spirit answers: He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue.”
May we take these sacred counsels and holy admonitions to heart, as we continue to strive to imitate Christ and aim for Heaven. May we have frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Penance and to the graces employed through prayer and sacramentals. We may think combatting such a sin is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
