Dealing with Lying | Part 1

Parenting On Purpose

Why Does My Child Tell Lies?

To deal with this difficult topic in parenting we must start by asking the question, what is lying? International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database defines a lie in this way; “In its very essence, a lie is something said with intent to deceive. It is not always a spoken word that is a lie, for a life lived under false pretenses, a hypocritical life, may be a lie equally with a false word.”

So why do lies happen? For children it may simply be to get out of trouble or an over active imagination. For teens it may also add for appearances sake, they want to please their peers or not want to feel bad about themselves.

Thirdly, we can ask where do lies come from? John 8:44 says this, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Meaning, we all have a sin nature so it is natural for us to immediately resort to lying when we are caught at something. We must be trained to be truth tellers.

Now that we have answered these three important questions check back the rest of this week for answers on dealing with lying.