The "Little" White Lie......

What is a white lie and where did it originate from?

White lie: A minor, polite, or harmless lie, fib.
White has the connotation of being good whereas black has the connotation of being evil. This is indeed somewhat racist but nevertheless it's the way the language evolved. A white lie can be excused because it does not cause great harm. For instance, if you don't want to see your friend one day, you tell them you aren't feeling well to avoid telling them the truth that you just don't want to see them that day. The little white lie hurts no one and sometimes avoids hurt feelings. ~Ruth Campbell~

Sounds pretty good—right! Especially the part, “The little white lie hurts no one and sometimes avoids hurt feelings.” Well, I think that “little” white lies are very harmful. Why? Because the practice of lying is a slippery slope. Solomon tells us that it is the little foxes that spoil the vine and Jesus tells us how they trip us up.

Before Jesus got a hold of me and God starting straigthening some things out in me, I was big on the “little” white lies. But I didn’t stop there; I told the big lies too and thought nothing of it. That is until the Holy Spirit shinned a light on it, and at that time I could barely stand to look at what He was showing me. Why was it necessary? God wants us to be as much like our Messiah as we can on this earth, so practiced sin is not acceptable in the Kingdom.

Over the years (since being exposed by God) I have been put on the spot many times as to where the “little” white lie would be so easy and very less complicated, but then I’m reminded of what Paul says in Ephesians 4….In speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

In the example above by Ruth Campbell, why couldn’t you just say to the person, “I can’t make it today”? That is the truth in love. And as Believers we must be very careful with our words, so I would never claim to be sick or not feeling well and that was not a true fact. ~Smile~

I’m not trying to be preachy with brimstone and fire for a lying tongue, because in some cases lying is not always so black and white. But, I do think the “little” white lie is. Now take Rahab who lied and hid the spies Joshua sent. She was rewarded for what she did. So were the midwives who the king of Egypt sent to kill the Hebrew babies that were born males. They lied and said they had gotten there too late, because they feared God, and the Bible says God was kind to them for this. And if the truth be told, I would lie and hide a brother or sister (in Christ) who was going to be shipped back to another country where they would be killed by their family or government for becoming a Christian. Look at the many people who did the same for salves in America until we were set free and also for Jews during the Holocaust. I personally know a woman who was one of the many hidden Jewish children of that time. Her parents sent her to live with a Catholic family in Belgium when she was 8 years old. Her mother, father and brother were sent to the camps and she never saw them again. She had to pretend to be Catholic and go to mass and Catholic school. She was later smuggled into the United States of American….she is now in her late 70’s.

But the “LITTLE” white lie is for our comfort and not really the benefit of someone else and as Believers we must also be careful because we don't always know who is watching us, and that's our real testimony.

Jesse DuPlantis (preacher/evangelist) tells a story of when he was a young evangelist as a guest preacher one Sunday; a woman from the congregation invited him home for lunch with her family. She laid claim to making some of the best gumbo in Louisiana. Long story short, he went home with her and it was the nastiest tasting stuff he had ever had. She looked at him and said, “Now isn’t that some good gumbo?” He was more than tempted to tell the “little” white lie, of “Yes, it is” when the Holy Spirit spoke sternly to his spirit and told him to tell the truth. After debating with the Holy Spirit for about a minute he looked at her and said, “I don’t mean any harm but this is the nastiest gumbo I’ve ever tasted.” Her husband (who by the way had not been in church) slapped his hand on the table and said, “Finally a man who says he’s a man of God who told the truth!” It seems that minister after minister had come to eat with her family over the years and kept telling the same “little’ white lie of how good that gumbo was, when in reality it wasn’t. Her husband ended up getting saved, because he had an ear to hear what Jesse had to say.

My dear sisters, as you can see, “LITTLE” white lies are harmful and you may never know how far reaching. So, if you are guilty of telling what you deem as “Little White Lies” it’s time you stopped and started speaking the truth in love.



Love & Hugs
Ponnie

See you next Monday!


Look for Jennifer's bolg on Wednesday, "Thou Shalt Be Happy"