Colossians 3:9. "Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"
LIE NOT. How terrible it is to misrepresent or deceive others with my words. Lying lips have in times past, led nations to war with their swords. In a Christian's mouth lying words can lead to breaking of relationships. And in an assembly of God's people it can ruin good fellowship.
Trust is something that takes time to build up and also to maintain. It comes after experiences are shared, the good ones and those that cause pain. The truth may have been told often but a lie destroys the whole. If one lie has misrepresented the truth, maybe everything is a lie that was told.
Even exaggeration can cause a person to not trust the speaker. And those who were opposed to the truth, to denigrate the truth are eager. The actual source of a false statement is he who was a liar at the beginning. And Satan takes advantage of a lie, to imply all that you did was sinning.
Putting off the old self and its practices, may not happen all at once. To many it is a natural way to behave with lying words and false fronts. The deeds and the words that accompanied the untruths Are to be put off and never taken on again; with that "old man" we are through.
"All-knowing God; Thy servant has to use words today in the course of the events before me. I am asking Thee, O God, to impose on me the needed pressure that I might not sin against Thee with my lips nor give false words or false hopes to other people. May I be able to speak true words in every conversation and in the Gospel meeting tonight as well. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."