Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25

A national liar’s organization is located in Burlington, Wisconsin. Obviously it is a tongue-in-cheek group, featuring fishing stories and other tall tales. People know what is involved: a form of entertainment.

All people, also Christians, lack perfect truthfulness. That comes out not only in what they say and do, but also in what they don’t say and do. Take, for example, Ananias and Sapphira, members of the first Christian church in Jerusalem. They were liars, not only because of their lies but also their pretense, namely, that they had given all their money to the poor when they had kept some of it for themselves. Hypocrites are liars and dishonest persons.

Sometimes traces of untruthfulness are found among church people today, with some members trying to outdo one another by practicing a false liberality or a pretended holiness. Saint Paul was aware of this tendency, writing to the Ephesians: "Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."

Jesus gives us the perfect example of truthfulness. Saint Peter writes of Him, quoting the words of Isaiah: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

It is one thing to admire an example, and another to follow it. A man in a wheelchair may admire one who can walk, but that doesn’t mean that he can get up and do likewise. Jesus not only gives us the example of perfect truthfulness, but He also enables us to follow it. In giving His life for us, in rising from the dead, and in sending His Holy Spirit into our hearts, He made us His own – made us to be like Him. We have no reason to lie about ourselves. We are acceptable in the sight of God.

PRAYER: Lord God, give me a truthful heart, fashioned after the truthful heart of Jesus, my Savior. Amen.

(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Job 32-33    Matthew 14:1-21

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