Is “feel good” lying biblical?

Lying has been around since the Garden of Eden. Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). Actually, that wasn’t true. Adam knew he had disobeyed YHWH and hid because he was afraid of punishment. Then Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit, while Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her. Later on, after Cain killed Abel, he lied to YHWH (Genesis 4:10). He knew exactly where his brother was, because he had just killed him….

Lying without repentance and forgiveness leads to “the second death” described in Revelation, which says, “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

Scripture tells us that it’s impossible for YHWH to lie (Hebrews 6:18). WHY? Because pure HOLINESS cannot sin!

So, what makes us believe that it’s okay?

For instance, what makes us believe that it’s okay for parents to lie to their children about Santa Claus or the Easter bunny? “Because it’s fun for the kids and teaches them make-believe” is NOT the correct answer because, first, lying is a sin (Exodus 20:16; John 8:44; Revelation 21:8); and secondly, many children feel betrayed once they discover Santa and the bunny weren’t real. Think back to when you were a child and discovered the truth about Santa. Surely, there was at least a twinge of resentment, making you wonder what other lies your parents might have told you.

Regardless, this brings me to a story I happened upon on Facebook recently which, on the surface, was a wonderful, tear jerking story about a little four-year-old girl named Meredith who was distraught over the death of her dog, Abbey. So, Meredith asked her mother if she could write a letter and send a picture of Abbey to God, so He would be able to recognize her and take good care of her.

Rather than to explain that there was no way to send a letter to Heaven, and that they could simply pray to God together to ask Him to take care of Abbey, this loving mother played along and wrote what the little girl dictated, addressed the envelope to “God/Heaven” and allowed Meredith to put several stamps on the envelope (“because it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.“)

Then, instead of allowing the child to think that her parents would mail the letter, the mother actually took her to the post office and had her drop it into the letterbox – thus (you guessed it!) getting postal workers involved.

The story went on to say that, a few days later, when the little girl asked her Mom if God had gotten the letter yet, the mother told her that she believed He had.

Okay – there is MORE to this story, and I’ll get to that in a minute. But let’s take a moment to take a breath and don our “Bible glasses” to really contemplate and analyze with an open mind what has happened so far:  The bottom line was that the mother (1) didn’t actually teach her child anything about death; (2) she didn’t turn it into a “teachable moment” about God or His Word; and (3) the mother actually LIED to her child - TWICE! (And remember, lying is a sin.)

You see, true Believer would never dare do such a thing. A true believer would be honest with their children. There are other ways to help a child deal with the death of a pet, without lying. However, this mother - out of sheer love for her child - not only wrote the letter for the girl and allowed her to believe she could actually SEND it through the US mail, even going so far as to have the child put stamps on it, and then taking her to the post office to actually mail it!

WHAT DECEPTION!

Now, by now you’re probably going, “Oh, Carmen, don’t be so mean. The mother meant well.” Well, of course, she did! But those lies led to MORE lies, which “snow-balled” into a whopper of a lie when a postal worker became involved! That’s what I’m hoping to get across to people….

You see, what happened next was a real tear-jerker, causing people to post wonderful and glowing comments about the kindness and generosity of some people, which “restored their faith in humanity.” (The thousands – yes, this thread had 173 THOUSAND likes and tons of comments by people who clearly did NOT know (or care) what Scripture says!

The article continued with the mother’s comments:

“Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page were the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

“Dear Meredith, Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.

“Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

“Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

“Love, God”

At the end of the article, were the words: “Don't say you're too busy to Share this. Just go ahead and do it. You will all be happy to know this wonderful story is 100% true, please don't take offense to the reference of God, it's part of the story.”

(NOTE FROM CARMEN: Yes, by all means, don’t be offended by the reference to God … whom you will ALL get to meet on Judgment Day, whether you like it or not!)

Anyway, it certainly WAS a beautiful story. HOWEVER - it was also a lie ALL the way around! While the kindness and generosity of this postal worker was to be commended, the bottom line was that this well-meaning person (1) perpetuated and participated in the original lies by pretending to BE GOD;  (2) and was, in essence, SPEAKING FOR Him – even telling the child that “He” (God) had picked her mother especially for her, and that “He” was sending blessings every day; and (3) although remaining anonymous, this person was basically bringing the glory to him/herself via this deception.  Why couldn’t they – instead of pretending to be God - have at least written, “I feel that God led me to respond to your letter and give you this gift.”

The thing is, pretending to be ELOHIM is BLASPHEMY! (See Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 24:13-16; and the Third Commandment, where the Hebrew word is SHAV, which means, "to substitute, make desolate, drain of power".)

Plus, NO ONE can realistically promise someone that God is “blessing them every day,” because only YHWH chooses whom to bless. Unless one belongs to YHWH and is a “good and faithful servant” who actually DOES HIS will, we cannot promise someone that they’re “being blessed” - because it would be a LIE!

Anyway, what I’m attempting to illustrate for those with an “ear to hear” and an “eye to see,” if you don’t see that there’s something wrong with this kind of deception, I would strongly suggest they re-read the Bible – especially those first five Books that reveal how very adamant YHWH is about being holy/set apart unto Him.

Contrary to popular thought, Jesus (whose given Hebrew name was Yeshua, which means “YHWH is Salvation”) did NOT come to earth to die so that people could purposely sin while believing they have a “get out of sin free” card! He came to erase our PAST sins before we accept him as YHWH’s Divine Messiah. PLEASE think about that….

Deuteronomy 12: 28 Obey and pay attention to everything I am ordering you to do, so that things will go well with you and with your descendants after you forever, as you do what ADONAI sees as good and right. 29 "When ADONAI your God has cut off ahead of you the nations you are entering in order to dispossess, and when you have dispossessed them and are living in their land; 30 be careful, after they have been destroyed ahead of you, not to be trapped into following them; so that you inquire after their gods and ask, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I want to do the same.'

31 You must not do this to ADONAI your God! For they have done to their gods all the abominations that ADONAI hates! They even burn up their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods! 32 "Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it. (CJB)