Trustworthy
If you knew someone who knew everything, and you were convinced that they could not lie, how often would you seek their counsel? How would it impact your relationship with them?
Our nation’s history is filled with stories that have endeared our leaders to us. One such story is about our first president, George Washington. As a young boy, he cut down his mother’s cherry tree. When confronted, he bravely admitted his actions, saying, ‘Mother, I cannot tell a lie; I cut it down.’ This act of honesty, even at his own risk, has been a testament to his character for generations.
Recently, I was tasked with interacting with customer service representatives. During the conversation, I discovered several of them were either intentionally lying to me or at least only using programmed responses they had been trained to use that could not apply to what I was asking. Either way, it led me to mistrust their ability to help me and question their integrity in doing so.
Honesty and integrity are extremely important to our ability to trust others or for others to be able to trust us. That is why it is so important to understand the character of honesty and integrity that originates with God. After all, He is called the God of truth, and Jesus came to us in grace and
truth. The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of truth. In the Scriptures it says,
Titus 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of JesusChrist, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; 4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
This passage clearly reveals that God cannot lie. It doesn’t say He does not lie simply because He is against doing so. It says, He cannot lie.
When you understand this accordingly, it can very powerfully feed your faith in what He speaks. Think about it. God, who cannot lie, has made certain promises to you, both in His word and in real-time interaction with you. If He cannot lie, that means you can count on what He promised you. God will be true to His word.
You become responsible for taking Him at His word and, of course, knowing what His word is. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was when I finally spoke with a customer service supervisor who was extremely honest with me, even at the risk of losing my business. I thanked him for his honesty, and he was the reason I remained with the service they offered.
Trust is not a given fruit in life. It is developed by knowing the character of the person you are expected to trust or at least having faith initially that they are good and trustworthy to start with. I am grateful to know that my God is the most trustworthy being who has ever existed. It has helped me immensely during strange and challenging times to stand firm on the promises He has made to me.
I encourage you today to examine God’s inability to lie and consider what He has spoken to you, both in His written word and when He has spoken to you as His own. That is something you can take to the bank and rely on, even when it appears it might not be able to come to pass. Be patient and stand strong because God never disowns what He spoke; He upholds His word because He cannot lie!
