This is a unique danger for children raised in Christian homes: lying to God. In Acts 5 Ananias and his wife Sapphira attempted to make themselves appear more spiritual than those around them. The made a show of being holy by misrepresenting the truth. Peter said, “What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” They paid for their lie with their lives. Here is an example of how this pattern of lying to God starts. One sibling sees that his sister is rewarded for cleaning. So, he is careful to inform his mom that he also helped, even if he did not actually do anything. This child realizes that he […]
Lying
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Youthful lusts and lying go hand in hand. Teenagers are unlikely to tell their parents that they want to borrow the car to go to a party for drugs, drinking, sex or looking at porn. No, the story will more likely be along the lines of “… a couple of the guys want to go catch a movie and a pizza. And since Joe is going out of town a I’ll be later than normal, okay? Thanks Dad”! This is what happened with Amnon. He didn’t care about what God wanted. He didn’t care about his father. He only cared about what his father could provide for him—in this case the object of his lust, Tamar. Notice that Amnon doesn’t […]
The response of immediately trying to deny responsibility comes naturally to us and to our children. Children are fearful of the consequences of their sin and lie to avoid them. Christ must be shown as the one who can bring peace to a fearful heart. It is vital that this pattern be addressed quickly and thoroughly. If it is not, then the habit of lying will take root and become a means to other ends. The next progression in lying is to lie when there is something to be acquired. This type of lie can range from trying to make someone else look bad to scheming to obtain something that cannot be had in a way that pleases God. In […]
Children’s lies are among the most painful words a parent can hear. You know that every one is born sin and that Bible teaches that children come forth from the womb speaking lies (Psalm 58:3). Still, when you realize your child is lying to you, it hurts. Lying is an indication that children are much more self-aware than they are often given credit for. It is compelling evidence of their true heritage: original sin. Children don’t have to be taught to lie, it comes naturally. One reason children lie is because they fear exposure. They are afraid others will find out their thoughts and doubts are hidden. Thus, lying seems to be the best way to solve the problem. However, […]
If you want your child not to lie, you must first teach them what truthfulness is. This is where biblical wisdom is needed. Wisdom teaches your child that telling the truth is more than just saying things that are true. Being truthful means speaking accurately, without exaggerating or being misleading. Your child needs wisdom to be truthful. Truth telling is a conscious effort to supply accurate information that honors God and not self. As you know, it is possible to say things that are accurate and still hide the truth. This is the distinction that you must teach to your children. No child is born wise. Wisdom is a skill that must be acquired. If you are waiting for your […]
This e-booklet is a collection of posts about lying from the Shepherd Press Blog. Because of the interest in these posts, they were collected into one document for easy reference. Feel free to share this with others. Click on the link below to view the e-booklet. Lying and Your Children
What to about lying – age specific Following the model in Shepherding a Child’s Heart about the way to engage children at various age levels is important. With young children you want to firmly establish the authority of God and his directives not to lie. This is the time to establish that lying is wrong because God says it is. Lying is not serving God, and life will not go well for the liar. This is not a time for extensive reasoning and deep introspection. God hates lying, and it must be rejected. Swift, direct and loving discipline is appropriate. Lying is not a stage that will be naturally left behind. If not biblically addressed, lying will become a way […]
Children’s lies are a harsh reminder of the nature of sin. To fully appreciate the immense power and value of the cross in our lives, we must have a profound sense of the ugliness of sin. This awareness must extend to your children as well. My children and your children come into this world as natural enemies of God. Telling the truth and avoiding deceit is not natural for them. They seek first and foremost to gratify their own passions and desires, even if it means that others will be harmed. They are by nature children of wrath. As the Psalmist & Paul say: Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward […]
In one sense all lies are lies to God. However, as the passage below shows, there is a particular type of lie that qualifies specifically as lying to God. This is “lying on steroids.” Often, this lie is not only about hiding things that are wicked, but about misrepresenting things that appear to be good, even righteous. This is where the greatest danger lies for children raised in Christian homes. That is why your parenting must go beyond addressing behavior. “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the […]
Children tend to lie in two types of circumstances. We looked at the first reason in the last post. The response of immediately trying to deny responsibility comes naturally to us and to our children. Children are fearful of the consequences of their sin and lie to avoid them. Christ must be shown as the one who can bring peace to a fearful heart. It is vital that this pattern be addressed quickly and thoroughly. If it is not, then the habit lying will take root and become a means to other ends. The next progression in lying is to lie when there is something to be acquired. This type of lie can range from trying to make someone else […]