Truthfulness; I always tell the truth
Proverbs 14:5, “An honest witness does not lie, a false witness breathes lies.”
Teaching the importance of truth to our children cannot be understated. From an early age, our children learn how to lie. The scary thing about this is that we did not have to teach them how! Lying is almost as natural to us as breathing. As Christians we know that this is a result of sin that infects every person, but lying always seems to take us by surprise. No matter how old we get, learning that someone has lied to you always hurts. Even though we know people typically lie to cover up something or set themselves up for a better outcome, we are never prepared to be lied to.
This week, our Heritage students will be learning about the importance of being truthful, and the dangers of telling lies. When we look at the Apostles, and all the amazing stories they are apart of in the book of Acts, one thing we see is the consistent truth in their statements. Not one time do we see the Apostles twisting their words in order to make their social or financial life easier. Instead, what we read is that they spoke so truthfully that people marveled and believed. When we encounter someone trying to lie in at any degree, we see truth violently defeat it.
Our goal as parents is to instruct and lead our children in the value of truth. Truth brings light to all situations, and gives the best direction going forward. The truth should never be feared, and should always be respected. The truth may reveal our mistakes, but speaking that truth will also reveal your true character.
Challenge: Occasionally, I like to offer us as parents a challenge to give some practical opportunities to model Christian character for our children. Truthfulness is one I wanted to avoid, but knew it would be helpful. For this week, I want to challenge us all to speak only the truth. I am not accusing us of being criminal liars, but we all twist the truth to our benefit from time to time, especially with our children. Speak truth to all people, and most of all your little ones. With God’s help, we will set an example of truthfulness that will impact and influence them going forward.
