When a Lie is Really Just Stretching the Truth

Stetching can be good unless the Truth is involved.

It never ceases to amuse, amaze, and frustrate me that what you see is not what you get. Did you ever wonder why there is a Securities and Exchange Commission? How about the Consumer Protection Act? Another example is the need for a label on a gasoline pump stating that the amount delivered is the amount for which you paid. Proverbs 11:1 says, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” God can see the stretching of truth, the bending of truth, and all of the other clever deceptions in our lives.

Gasoline pump: weights and measures matter.

When We Want to Lie and put a pretty Face on it, we can Stretch the Truth

One way we do this is to “stretch the truth.” In other words, we exaggerate something in order to mislead someone without “technically” lying. We can also try bending the truth. I can alter or omit certain details of a story in order to achieve my goal.

Creative Idioms for lying are Manifold

This is how we do it in English: It was just a “little white lie.” We are really being nice when we do this because we say something that is not true in order not to hurt someone’s feelings. However, we don’t want to be taken to the cleaners by someone. That probably means they are going to take something from us in a way that seems good to us until we get the results.

Some just like to “pull the wool over someone’s eyes.” I just don’t want you to see reality so I will deceive you to take advantage of you. In fact, we know we need to “take something with a grain of salt” because some sources aren’t reliable. We want to keep in mind that what is being said may not be completely true because the source is not a reliable source. We know we need to be skeptical of what is being said.

Product Lies

Sometimes the image or package are not the whole truth. Truth is stretchy.

We see examples of product lies almost every day. They are so common that we often think this is normal. The size of the box lies about the contents. The television commercial, and even the signs in the fast-food restaurant lie about the burgers. A rope looks like it is good for climbing, but it isn’t. Perhaps we need to be a bit more focused on seeing truth so that we can spot the deceptions.

Does the fast-food restaurant tell the truth about what you will receive?

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

A follower of Jesus takes great comfort in the reality that he tells us the truth. I have read the scriptures from cover-to-cover. They tell the truth about me, about life, about relationships, about wealth, and about anything else that really matters, like eternity. Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.