What do you do when people you know and have trusted lie to you? Sometimes I confront them and sometimes I don't. I've had someone lie to me a couple of times lately and unfortunately I haven't been in a position to prove it. My sister told me that I should look this person in the eye and ask him if what he has told me is the God's honest truth. I may try that.

I used to be an accomplished liar. I could sneak cookies from the cookie jar like a ninja. No sound. I could slip in and out of a bedroom window six feet off the ground the same way if I was supposed to be napping. I saw no reason to tell the truth when lying could get me what I wanted.

The trouble is, I always felt guilty afterwards. I knew that it was wrong to lie and to sneak. I did it anyway. After I became a believer, I still lied and I still sneaked in certain circumstances. It was in circumstances where I wanted my own way. As I grew in my walk with the Lord, I learned that wanting my own way was the same kind of thing that has been getting mankind in trouble since Adam and Eve.

People lie for different reasons. Sometimes they lie to avoid conflicts with others. That just delays the inevitable. Sometimes they lie because they want something and they think lying will get it for them easier or more quickly, but it just ends up diminishing the "having." Sometimes they lie just to be hurtful. There is no good reason to lie.

If I am tempted to lie, it is always to avoid conflict or embarrassment. I've learned to take the embarrassment. It's just embarrassment, and I do it well. (Laughing here) As far as avoiding a conflict well, sometimes they can't be avoided. I do however think before I speak and come up with a way to answer a situation truthfully that isn't necessarily inflammatory.

If my wife asks me, "Does this top look good on me?" I can't necessarily always answer, "All tops look good on you." because not every top is flattering to her, and what she is really asking me is, "Do you love like you did twenty years ago and am I still pretty?" She is of course, but I don't love her like I did twenty years ago. I actually am closer to her now. So what do I say, honestly? If I don't like the top I tell her that it isn't good enough for her, and that she needs to find something better. She may not like the answer, but at least it's honest.