The “Doctor of Dishonesty” is Dishonest

“The truth doesn’t cost you anything, but a lie could cost you everything.”

  A recent news story, “A Famous Honesty Researcher Is Retracting A Study Over Fake Data” was one of those “Are you serious?” moments.

  Renowned psychologist Dan Ariely literally wrote the book on dishonesty. He was known as “Dr. Dishonesty.” But now some are questioning whether the scientist himself is dishonest. 

  His landmark study that endorsed a simple way to curb cheating is going to be retracted nearly a decade later after a group of scientists found that it was based on lies, faked data. According to the 2012 paper, when people signed an honesty declaration at the beginning of a form, rather than the end, they were less likely to lie. It was a seemingly cheap and effective method to combat fraud and was adopted by companies and government agencies around the globe. It made a splash among academics, who cited it in their own research hundreds of times. Apparently, Dr. Ariely, a frequent TED Talk speaker and Wall Street Journal columnist – lied about his experiments and data. The psychologist who literally wrote the book on dishonest behavior is just another liar. 

  Let’s be honest though. Most people don’t think lying is that big of a deal. It’s not like it’s stealing or murder and we easily rationalize it. Spouses lie to each other in the name of keeping the peace; parents lie to their children and vice versa, employers and employees play the game. Advertisers lie to increase the bottom line. Politicians are renowned for “fake news.” 

  Yet, even many of the people of truth, Christians, don’t view lying as the grievous sin that it is. Christians who’d never steal, watch porn or swear, think little of the sin of lying and don’t consider it a moral wrong. While their lies may not be blatant. They may rationalize their little “white lies.” Yet, they’re a violation of God’s standard of absolute truth. 

  There’s a scene in the movie Something's Gotta Give that succinctly captures. After catching the man she loves on a date with another woman, Diane Keaton is chased out of the restaurant by a guilty and distraught Jack Nicholson. When he finally stops her, he pleads, “I have never lied to you, I have always told you some version of the truth.” She replies, “The truth doesn’t have versions, okay?” And that's the truth. The truth may have many sides. It may be complicated or hard to understand, but it exists. It doesn’t have versions. It’s what makes truth the truth. 

  Yet, many of God’s children have trouble with the truth. We may not be outright liars, but we shade it to make it fit more comfortably into our lives, to prevent it from disrupting them from our careers to our relationships.  

  What does the Bible say about truth? The Bible teaches that truth isn’t an abstract idea or philosophical puzzle. It teaches instead that…

  Truth is a person­—the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Apostle John, reflecting on the whole of Jesus’ life, wrote, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Jesus truth took on human nature. Jesus is the truth and lived a completely truthful life. 

  God Is True. In order to understand more fully what the Bible means when it says that Jesus is the truth, we need to understand that truth is an attribute of God’s nature. God is true. Scripture repeats this over and over: “This God—His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.”

  All that God is and does is trustworthy. Every word He speaks is true. It’s why we can run to Him, throw ourselves on Him, depend totally on Him because He is true. Because God is true, all truth belongs to Him and finds its ultimate meaning in Him. 

  All God Says Is True. In a letter to one of his coworkers, Paul used this vital wording that God “does not lie.” One of the Psalms writes, “All Your words are true…” (Ps. 119:160). God’s Word, the Bible, is true because God is the God of truth. Lying is rooted in the Fall of man (Genesis 3). God created a world originally birthed in truth. It was when sin invaded and perverted creation that lying poisoned our world. 

  Lying is rooted then in our souls but most lying doesn’t start with lying to others, it starts with first lying to ourselves. How does someone become a convincing liar? They begin to believe their own lies. The dishonesty of the soul produces the lies of the life. As Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” 

  Lying is culturally acceptable and easily contaminates Christians, who, are because they are children of the God of truth, must be people of truth. 

  Where are we most tempted to lie? When we feel a sense of shame like being late for an appointment or caught in an awkward situation. We lie when we fear the truth will hurt or complicate a relationship, failing to realize that the lie will cause more damage than the truth ever will. Dishonesty is an IED to a relationship. 

  Christians too easily lie when it comes to financial matters, like on our income taxes or selling a car or other product, or when you owe someone money. Exaggerating is a form of lying. We must be careful with the truth if we’re told a rumor or are reminiscing and telling a story when we tell someone how much we paid for something or when asked for our opinion or advice. 

  What must we do when we lie? Confess it to God (1 John 1:9) and He immediately forgives us. Jesus died and paid for all of our lies on the cross. Then, come clean with the one you lied to (James 5:16). 

  When we admit that we were dishonest, it does two things. Often the other person begins to respect us for coming clean and secondly, the shame from the admission is an incentive against further lies or deception. 

  How can we get a firmer handle on truth and honesty? Love the truth. Philippians 4:8 urges us to meditate on the truth. We must learn the truth by saturating our minds with good things, like the Word of God. The truth will set you free. Live the truth. Ephesians 4:25, “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.” (NLT).  

  God is a God of truth. We are to be people of truth. It’s evidence of our spiritual DNA, that we know Jesus and God is our Heavenly Father! 

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