The 'cost' of Lying

There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. God appeared to him and said, "Don't go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I'll be with you and bless you. I'm giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I'll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge-my commands, my guidelines, my teachings." So Isaac stayed put in Gerar. The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say "She's my wife." He was thinking, "These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she's so beautiful." One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So, she's your wife. Why did you tell us 'She's my sister'?" Isaac said, "Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her." Abimelech said, "But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us." Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: "Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies." (Genesis 26:1-11 MSG)
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Ok, so Abraham's lie almost cost Abimelech and his men to sin - by sleeping with another man's wife. Sometimes we lie to keep ourselves out of trouble; but have we considered the consequences of it upon ourselves and even other people?

It's better to NOT lie and face the music rather than having to tell a lie to cover up another lie or get others into trouble.


Consider that.