A man in New York City married a woman who had a cat named Snowflake.  Actually Snowflake had her.  She loved Snowflake.  She stroked her, combed her fur, fed her delicacies and pampered her in every way. 

       The man secretly detested Snowflake.  He was allergic to cat hair.  He hated the smell of the litter box. He couldn ' t stand the scratching on the furniture.  He couldn ' t get a good night ' s sleep because Snowflake kept jumping on the bed.  So when his wife was out of town for the weekend, he put Snowflake in a bag with some rocks and dumped her in the Hudson River . 

       When his wife returned and could not find her cat, she was overwhelmed with grief.  Her husband said, "Look, Honey, I know how much Snowflake means to you.  I ' m going to put an ad in the paper and give a reward of five hundred dollars to anyone who finds our beloved pet."

       As you would expect, no cat showed up.  This was New York City so there were a few imposters offered but the real cat was not to be found.  So a few days later he said, "Honey, you mean more to me than anything else on earth.  Snowflake is precious to you so she is precious to me.  I ' ll tell you what I ' ll do.  I ' ll buy another ad and raise the ante.  We ' ll increase the reward to one thousand dollars."

       A friend saw the ad and exclaimed, "You must be nuts; there isn't a cat on earth that is worth a thousand dollars."

       The man replied, "Well, when you know what I know, you can afford to be generous."

       This man had mastered the art of lying.  He is not alone.  If, in the words of the children’s rhyme, “Liar, liars have their pants on fire” we are all singed around the hind quarters.   

       Someone said that the four most overworked lies in the world are these:

            "My wife doesn't understand me."

            "The check is in the mail,"

          “Sure, I’ll respect you in the morning,” and

            "I am from the government and I ' m her to help you."

        To those four let me add a fifth – “I am the Christian widow of a Nigerian billionaire and I desperately want to give money to your church.”  Oh, the wonders of the internet.

       Lying certainly is helpful.  Just think of how you answer questions like "Does this outfit make me look fat?"  It may also be necessary.  For example, if the Gestapo comes to your door and asks if you are hiding Jews, lying with a straight face is both essential and right.

       Extreme situations require extreme measures.  But extreme examples are rare.  Most of our lies are not attempts to save life but to save embarrassment.  They are attempts to avoid friction in our relationships and stay out of trouble.  Or they are designed to boost our reputation – to make us look like more than we are. 

       I have lied for all those reasons.  At least once, when I was young, I lied to the extent that I got totally lost about which person I had given which version of the truth so the whole shoddy façade came crashing down.  And I bet many of you have done the same. 

       Where does lying come from?  Some of it may be instinctive. 

       According to a 1991 article in the Chicago Tribune:  “The thing that separates human beings from other animals isn ' t the ability to reason or use tools, but telling lies and the human capacity for self-deception.  Researchers claimed that proficiency at lying may be the best measure of advancement, with primates much more adept at it than other mammals and human beings the most masterful deceivers on the planet.”

       Lying may be instinctive.  It may be the most natural thing in the world.  But that doesn ' t mean that it is okay for us.  The whole point of Colossians 1 and 2 is that as believers we have died with Christ to the world and have been raised with Him to new life. 

       As David Hubbard, former President of Fuller Seminary expressed it:  “Christ died and rose again,.  That’s history. But when I put my faith in Jesus Christ, I become a part of that history.  I die with Christ, no linger living my old earthly life.  I rise with Christ alive to new possibilities of righteousness and love.”

        The reason we are alive to new possibilities is that, in Christ, we are no longer natural.  We are supernatural.  Because we are in Christ we are no longer bound to instinct.  We can do things that are totally against instinct like extend forgiveness, love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  We can also live without lying - except in those very rare conditions where a group like the Gestapo has no right to the truth, and there is a higher law to obey.

       Generally speaking, lies have no place in the life of a Christian.  That is especially true in our communication with each other in the church. 

       In Colossians 3:9, Paul lists lying as one of the sins of the mouth that we are to lay aside now that we are in Christ.  He says much the same thing with an important “how come?” addition over in Ephesians 4:25 where he writes: "Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another."  That’s the “how come.”   We are members of one another.

      The church is the body of Jesus Christ.  That is a wonderful truth that is explored in passages like Ephesians 4:1-6 and 1 Corinthians 12.  And what could be more ludicrous than a body that lies to itself -- having an eye that tells the foot that all is smooth ahead, when in fact, there is glass on the road or having a heart that keeps insisting that “everything is okay, keep right on running,” until it suddenly collapses? 

       Clear communication is essential for a body to remain healthy.  The same is true of the body of Christ.  We are dependant on others for our own well-being.  There is no place for falsehood or evasion in a mutually dependent body.

       Now strictly speaking, the word in Ephesians 4:25 is not falsehood in the abstract sense but "the lie."  Paul says that we are to lay aside "the lie" in our dealings with each other.

       How is "the lie" expressed?

       Certainly it is expressed, first of all, in words.  In John 8:44 Jesus calls Satan a "liar and the father of lies."  When we lie to each other, we are paying homage to the father of lies.  That is something we must not do.   “The lie” can also be expressed in the tone of voice, the eloquent look or the raised eyebrow.  Even silence can do it.  The lie is any mechanism by which we intend to deceive.

       As you read the Old Testament you may be surprised that the Bible should take up so much space to speak about things like weights and measures, and the accuracy of scales and containers and units of measurement.  But it is intensely significant that that God is very interested in these things God tells us by this focus that meticulous honesty is a natural and essential expression of true religion.   In Revelation 22:15, John writes that those who “love and practice lying” will be excluded from the New Jerusalem. 

       Truth telling is very, very important to God.  We get an idea as to the degree of importance in the story of a man named Annanias and his wife Sapphira in Acts 5.  Annanias and Sapphira are members of the church in Jerusalem in its earlier days.  It is the commendable practice for the better off in the church to share their wealth with poorer brothers and sisters.  One man, named Joseph, sells a piece of property and gives the proceeds to the ministry of the church.  For this generous action, which grows out of his habitual lifestyle, he is given the name "Barnabas" by the Apostles.   Barnabas means “the son of encouragement.”

       Apparently Annanias and Sapphira also want this kind of approval from the Apostles and the thanks of the church.  They also sell a piece of property and bring money from the sale and lay it at the Apostle ' s feet. 

       The trouble is that Annanias, with Sapphira ' s full knowledge and consent, keeps back part of the profit from the sale.  Now there's nothing wrong with that.  The money from the sale is theirs and they can use it however they choose.  But when they lay the money at the apostle ' s feet, it is with the claim that they are giving all of the money they had received from the land.  They lie.  They know that Christians are to give sacrificially, not out of their leftovers.  And they apparently want praise for going the whole sacrificial distance without the inconvenience of actually going the whole sacrificial distance.  They think they could play games with the church and that God is far away. 

       Peter says, "Annanias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back a portion of the price of the land?  While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?  And after it was sold, was it not under your control?  Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?  You have not lied to people but to God." 

       Apparently the shattering impact of Peter ' s words gets through. Luke tells us that as Peter says these words, Annanias falls down and breathes his last, and great fear comes upon all those who hear of it.  Annanias is taken out and buried.  While the burial party is gone, Sapphira comes in not knowing what has happened to Annanias.  Peter asks her:  "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" 

       Whether that would legally be considered entrapment, I don't know.  But Sapphira is entrapped.  She agrees with the story Annanias has told.  Peter says:  "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the spirit of God to the test?  Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they shall carry you out as well.  Sapphira falls immediately to the floor and breathes her last.  She is buried beside her husband and "Great fear comes upon the whole church and upon all who hear of these things."

       I would think so.  I mean that ' s what I call church discipline.  And the story teaches us something important -- that God places a high value on the truth and especially on the truth between believers.  He expects us to keep our word -- the word we speak when we become part of the congregation. 

       In our new member classes we stress the importance of honesty in our dealings with each other.  Among other things, that means that when something happens around here that you don’t like, you are honest enough to say, “I don’t like that.”  Don’t just stop coming to church – even though it’s easier to practice avoidance.  When someone calls to see where you’ve been, don’t just say, “Oh, we’ve been busy” and avoid the real issues.  You need to be honest for your own sake and the sake of the church. 

       We can’t fix something unless we know it.  And we often can’t know it unless you are honest about it.  You can’t just take your marbles and go home and never speak the truth.  God’s word forbids it.

        There are other promises we make here besides the promises of membership.   In this building we speak promises of marriage, promises of baptism promises of ordination.  Don’t take these vows lightly.  God will hold you to them.

       So, in another way, will our children.  Our children  are aware of how much we value the truth – not just the truth we tell them but the truth we tell others. 

       Until 1997 Michael Jordan, indisputably the leading player in the NBA for over a decade, was never the highest paid player.  When asked why he did not do what so many other players do, hold out on their contracts until they get more money, Michael replied, "I have always honored my word.  I went for security.  I had six-year contracts and I always honored them. People said I was underpaid, but when I signed on the dotted line, I gave my word."

       Three years later, after several highly visible players reneged on their contracts, a reporter asked Michael once again about being underpaid and he explained that if his kids saw their dad breaking a promise, how could he continue training them to keep their word?  By not asking for a contract renegotiation, Michael Jordan spoke volumes to his children.  He told them, "You stand by your word, even when that might go against you." His silence became a roar.

       But "the lie" is not found only in words.  It is also found in actions.  It is found in our pretense when we pretend to be what we are not.  Paul tells us that our love for each other is to be "sincere."  The word sincere comes from the Greek words "syn-cera" which literally means "without wax."  We are to be "wax free."

       You see cheap pottery was sometimes made with wax to disguise flaws.  It looked like normal pottery until you tried to cook in it.  Then the wax would melt and the pot would fall apart.  So high quality pottery was marked "Syn-cera" - without wax.  This was the pottery that could stand up in the fire.  In the same way, we are to be free from pretense.  We are to avoid "the lie" in our actions and attitudes as well as in our words.

       Years ago Douglas Aircraft was competing against Boeing to sell Eastern Airlines its first big jets.  Eddie Rickenbacker, then head of Eastern Airlines, reportedly told Donald Douglas that the specifications and claims made by the Douglas Company for the DC-8 were close to Boeing’s on everything except noise suppression. Rickenbacker then gave Douglas one last chance to out-promise Boeing on this feature.  After consulting with his engineers, Mr. Douglas reported back to Rickenbacker that he did not feel that he could make that promise.  Rickenbacker smilingly replied.  “Oh, I know you can’t.  Boeing really can’t either.  I just wanted to see if you are still honest.  You’ve just got yourself an order for 135 million.”

       Douglas ’ sincerity won the contract.  Rickenbacker needed to know who he was working with.  So do we.  So does the church.  So tell the truth.  Tell the truth because you value your own good name and need others to value it. 

       The cure for falsehood is simple enough, Paul says.  Tell the truth.  Because you have been set free by Jesus, you have a choice.  Tell the truth because you recognize that you have died and have been raised with Christ.  Tell the truth here in the church because you recognize that we are actually members of one another.  Tell the truth because the Spirit of Jesus makes you able to tell the truth.