Original: January 24, 2008
McMinnville, OR
PR 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
There are two types of men that I struggle with: The quitter and the liar. I know we all have lied on some level and at some point in life but you know what I mean when I say liar. A liar is that man who has a habitual problem of not doing what he says, over exaggerating the truth, and telling falsehoods simply because he thinks he can get away with it.
I know one adult boy who always has to do one better than everyone else. If you shoot a nice buck, his was bigger. If you had a great duck shoot, he shot more. If you bagged one he bagged two. However, when confronted with producing pictures for proof he never has them.
“My arrow bounced off the shoulder blade”, was his excuse when I called him out on the lie that he arrowed and huge Western Oregon bull.
I know another adult boy who must have the most horrible luck. Or, he too, is a liar. Several years ago, his Eastern Oregon mule deer was stolen by “Cambodians” of all people. Have you ever seen a Cambodian in Eastern Oregon? How did he even know they were Cambodian and not Korean, Taiwanese or Filipino? A few years later a lion stole a trophy blacktail buck out of his, get this, barn and ate the horns! To top it all off last year he arrowed a big bull only to have a group of hunters claim it as their own and take it from him!
Poor guy!
The frustration with the liar is their stories that are too good, too grandiose and too perfect to be true. The problem with the liar is that there is usually no physical proof against them. The liar knows this fact and often responds, “If you do not believe me then prove me a liar.”
“Jim, are you calling me a liar?!”
“Dang straight I am. Show me the pictures buddy.”
I have been around liars long enough to know this; so listen up men and listen carefully. This is a truth I have carried with me for many years regarding the liar.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is!
Don’t be afraid to call a liar out for what he is-a liar. He will probably look you in the eye and say what liars love to say, “Are you calling me a liar?”
Look him straight back and say, “Why, yes I am…Liar!”
He won’t do anything. Liars and cowards usually fill the same skin. He may even smile acknowledging without words that finally someone was man enough to call him out. He may even respect you but I know this, he won’t lie to you again. He won’t lie until next time he needs to.
He is still a liar, remember!
Be a man of honor. Be a man of truth. Be the kind of man who never needs to beg people to believe you with liar phrases such as, “Honestly”, “I swear”, or “I promise”.
Jesus said, “Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37, see also: James 5:37).
The words of an honest man travel up to heaven. The words of a liar fall out of their mouth directly into the mud bog of sin. Which man will you choose to be?
It’s your call.
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and ALL LIARS (emphasis mine)-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
