by Ray Comfort
"In December of 2008, a report which studied to conduct of 30,000 high school students found that 30 percent of students admitted to stealing from a store within the past year, a two percent rise from 2006. More than one third of boys (35 percent) said they had stolen goods, compared to 26 percent of girls. An overwhelming majority, 83 percent, of public school and private religious school students admitted to lying to their parents about something significant, compared to 78 percent for those attending independent non-religious schools. "Despite these high levels of dishonesty, these same kids have a high self-image when it comes to ethics." Some 93 percent of students indicated satisfaction with their own character and ethics, with 77 percent saying that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."
These are violations of God’s Law--lying, stealing and dishonoring of parents. It’s significant that the religious schools had higher rates of Lawlessness and that self-righteousness was rampant. While experts and philosophers suggest a multitude of reasons as to why this is happening, it traces itself back to a lack of the fear of God. Their concept of God doesn’t include retribution for transgression of His Law. Idolatry is probably the hardest to detect, but it is undoubtedly the worst of sins, because of the door it opens."
(the above article by Ray Comfort can be found on the Christian Worldview Network website.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
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10 comments:
Right on, Jeff. Lying usually traces back to the parents, in two ways.
One, they teach their kids to lie, by example. Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, etc... are one blatant category. Making promises and not keeping them is another form. Making up excuses for why they can't do something, etc.... Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, and they learn that it's OK to lie, at least sometimes. But God said it's never OK.
Second, they do not nip the lying in the bud. When their child tells a lie, they brush it off, sometimes saying that it's cute. My wife and I were both raised strictly not to lie, and we raise our son the same way.
One interesting point about always being honest, is you never have to explicitly "swear" that somehting is true or say, "I promise", because everyone who knows you knows your word is true and you live by it. Your yea is yea, and your nay is nay. :)
What an interesting and disturbing post. It's sad..I agree with the above comment by Greg.
I personally hate lying. I take it very serious in my own household.
It's funny because I just wrote about lying to our kids about Santa. Which is why I stopped by..
I wanted to say thanks for stopping by www.ConsecratedToHim.com Jeff and thanks for leaving a comment. You have some interesting posts and I will be following your blog.
God bless you brother..
I really enjoyed that read.
Greg,
Good points.
Our society teaches that lying is sometimes necessary. As you stated, God says lying is never OK.
One interesting point about always being honest, is you never have to explicitly "swear" that somehting is true or say, "I promise", because everyone who knows you knows your word is true and you live by it. Your yea is yea, and your nay is nay. :)
Excellent point. Also, when you lie, and especially when you make it a habit, you have to keep track of what lies you've told, if you don't want to get caught. But if you're always completely honest, then you don't have to worry about contradicting some lie you told previously, or about feeling guilty.
Lisa C. aka Trophy of Grace,
You're welcome, and thank you very much for stopping by and leaving a comment, as well. If you want, we could exchange links.
Your testimony, BTW, is amazing.
Leon Basin,
Thank you, and also thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Much appreciated!
In a sense, lying and stealing become habits. I could seriously see doing more of each if I gave in, any more than I do now.
I don't consider myself someone who for the most part lies or steals, thanks to God.
Very good article. It's like saying a venial sin is not as bad as a mortal sin.....c'mon, sin is sin.
No such thing as a small "white" lie(an ex: is telling kids about Santa, Easter bunny....etc). To God, a lie is a lie.
thekingpin68,
In a sense, lying and stealing become habits. I could seriously see doing more of each if I gave in, any more than I do now.
Yes, even as Christians, if we don't spend time with God, our sin nature could become more dominant.
Lori,
Very good article. It's like saying a venial sin is not as bad as a mortal sin.....c'mon, sin is sin.
Yes, the 'smallest' sin is enough to separate anyone from God. Though not all sins have the same degree of consequences, and though I do believe in different levels of punishment in Hell, no sin is 'OK.' To God, every one is an offense to Him. A thief can be behind bars just as a murderer can. It's like saying, "Which would you rather drink: a glass of water with 3 drops of lethal poison in it, or a glass of water that is half-full of poison?" The obvious answer is neither.
No such thing as a small "white" lie(an ex: is telling kids about Santa, Easter bunny....etc). To God, a lie is a lie.
Yes, there is nothing "white" (i.e., 'pure') about a 'white' lie.
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