Liar! Liar!

Tom Barnard

 

“He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth.

There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character;

For he is a liar and the father of lies.”

(John 8:44 NLT)

 

David Jeremiah tells a humorous story about a store manager who was pressured into lying because he spoke before he got all the facts. The manager heard a clerk say to a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for a while, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Horrified at what he thought his clerk was saying to a customer, the store manager came running over to the lady and interrupted his clerk in front of the lady, saying, “Of course we’ll have some soon. We placed an order last week.” When the lady moved on, the manager took the clerk aside and scolded him sternly. “Never,” he snarled, “never say we’re out of anything—say we’ve got it on order and it’s coming soon. Now what was it she wanted?” The clerk replied, “Rain.”

 

The manager wasn’t being carnal; he was just being stupid. He should have listened to more of the conversation before jumping the gun and making himself look like a fool, in front of his clerk and in front of the customer. He told a lie because he hadn’t heard the question properly.

 

Satan lies because it is his nature to lie. He cannot tell the truth. He will take a perfectly good attitude and turn it into something it isn’t. He takes a perfectly pure sex drive and perverts it. He uses scripture, but quotes it out of context. His primary goal is to mislead us, and his ultimate goal is to own us. Have you ever heard of anyone who was tempted to be good? Doesn’t happen.

 

John leaves us with a warning: Don’t believe anything Satan tells you. If he tempts you to act or speak or desire in a certain way, consider it to be the wrong direction to take. In the wilderness following his baptism, Jesus was hungry and thirsty. He had fasted for more than a month. Satan said to him, “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Jesus had the power to do that very thing, but he recognized the tactic of Satan and turned him down. We should learn from that lesson. Just say “No.”

 

Heavenly Father, I am no stranger to temptation. I have discovered that it is relatively easy to distinguish between a desire and a temptation. And it is possible to learn to recognize when an urge is from Satan or from God. I pray that you will give me the wisdom to know the difference, and encourage me to take the high road and say “No” when Satan comes calling. Thank you for answering this prayer. Amen.