Lesson 29. LYING.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVI, Issue 3, 1 September 1925, Page 2

Lesson 29. LYING.

My duty towards my neighbor says I must "keep my tongue from evil speaking, lying and slandering". We must always speak the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.' ' "The devil was a murderer from the beginning) ; anct abode not m Ihe truth, because -there is no truth m him» When hie spealceth a lie, he

speaketh of his own; for lie ; is a liar and the father of lyin^*?. ,I^the devil is the father p&aii ? li^^ara^ tians must never lie-^ifthßy^*^ is like owning the devil f or ijfipß^r dopier. When wehiive doae^yihiiji^i^&i^ at home or at school or aaiywheaeer^ii it only- makes our fsrajt ei^Hf s&«*Siuch worse to lie aboujkit. -W^>G*Ssea& our' sins God will* f Q®sv& W^^ ni God cannot forgivtfr>- j #e*sili£' : *i«r tell lies about them. One of the worst lands of Ires is saying untrue things about other people. It is best not to say anything about others except the good things we know about them. A boy or girl who tells about the faults of others just for the sake of getting them into trouble or to get praise for himself is a nasty tittle-tattler. Sometimes it is our duty to tell about the faults of others. For; example, if; we see an innocent boy being punished for a fault and we know ; he is being unjustly punished it may sometimes be our dirty to say who did the wrong; but, even then, we must never accuse anyone of doing wrong unless we are quite suite. To say false things, or things we are not sure of, about another person's character is "slander" 1 ; to say true things is wrong if they injure the other 1 person's character, unless it is our duty to. say them. There is a saying 'Ahalf a truth is worse than a lie." It a .thing is only half true, it is half false. A thing that is half true and half false has. a better chance of being believed than a lie has. . — When people are called upon to '%ive evidence** inja ; @ourfc|o^^sfcice they have to "take an oaih" that they will speak the truth. This is a solemn way of declaring iii the Presence of. God that what we are going to say is all true. The policeman who ' ' administers the oath *' says ' 'You shall speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the, tenth, so help you God." Then the witness kisses the Bible or holds, it m his hand while the words are said. Anyone who does not speak, the truth^ when he is "on oath" commits the crime of "perjury/ But Christians should alw^s?^reinemfeer the ,#r*isence of Gocf wneri they speak, they should not need to take the oath at all. Their words should be always true. Cheating at lessons m school is lying. If you copy somebody, else's sums, ok if you keep a [book .open under the desk and. pretend; your answers to the teacher's questions are your own whilst you are really .getting the answers from your book, you are trying to deceive, the teacher, This is lying. If you cheat like this you may escape being punished for not knowing your work, but it, is far better to be punished than to lie. Story -books^ f aii?y tales,! • awd w on

are not true' but they arc -not Hes. iTheyr dow)t p:ceten;d to-be trup, An untrue statement is ionly <a lie when it 4srmeant' *o deceive; anyone. As an exercise write ; out the - first three rverses of (psalm 15;. You will find ftfae -psalm m your prayer book.