The Truth About Lying
John Wesley once famously said, “I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world.” I used to agree with Wesley, but I can’t say that I do anymore. So, what changed? What changed is my thinking after recently reading the new biography Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.
It’s not that I don’t believe in the 9th commandment. I do. I believe that God does command us to tell the truth and that it is wrong to lie. However, I came to a profound understanding after reflecting on the life and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that telling the truth is more than just not telling lies.
That simple reflection has deeply challenged my conviction about what it really means to tell the truth. Telling the truth is not just about what we don’t do. It is also very much about what we do. In other words, speaking the truth is not just about avoiding saying anything untrue. It is also about purposely saying what is true.
This was the conviction of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who spoke the truth about Hitler and the Third Reich in Nazi Germany during World War II and paid for it with his life. Though some argue that he went to the gallows not for speaking the truth but for lying about his participation in the plot to assassinate Hitler, I would suggest that his “lie” may have actually been perhaps more about truth than deceit.
What I mean by that is his choice to involve himself in the attempt to rid the world of evil incarnate in order to spare the lives of Jewish victims was a very bold statement about what is right and true. His choice to affirm and defend the dignity of human life actually reveals a deep conviction about and firm commitment to the truth.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer felt compelled by his faith to not only speak but also to act, and though we don’t have a fully orbed understanding of why he acted the way he did, we do know that he had a strong conviction to do so. At some point in his ministry he obviously felt obligated to take action and felt it so strongly that he never second-guessed himself.
Though it is perplexing to some that he would choose to participate in a plot to murder another human being, he believed that Hitler wasn’t just another human being. He believed the fuehrer to be the devil on earth, the mortal enemy of God and humanity. For this reason, he was compelled to act and stop him.
It should be noted that Bonhoeffer never asked anyone to bear his burden with him or to follow in his steps. He saw that his action was something only he could take. His was an assignment given to him by God himself and was not a mandate or example for anyone else to follow.
Even though his decision to deceive is complex and confusing to others, I can see after reading this book that it wasn’t confusing to him at all. I am confident that he thought long and hard about his choice before he made it and that he was fully aware of the consequences that came with it.
Bonhoeffer preached that real faith must lead to action and that action is sometimes costly. That’s why he famously wrote: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” And in that statement we see everything we need to know about why he felt compelled to act.
Some will argue that lying is never justified even if it means that evil prevails. Those who believe this typically have a hard time balancing the letter of the law with the spirit of the law. What I mean by that is in Scripture there is both law and intent, and many struggle to see both.
Jesus had to come and parse the intent for all those who could only see law. There were many in his day, especially the most religious, who memorized every letter but missed every point, and that is why Jesus had to explain everything to them all over again.
You see, there is a spirit within Scripture, an intent that reveals what God really desires from us. And, if we get too consumed just with the words, then we could easily miss it. The spirit will never undermine the words, but the spirit will always qualify them. Recognizing the spirit of Scripture is a more delicate and difficult task than just reading the words, but it is no less important.
Clearly, Bonhoeffer was able to discern the spirit of Scripture. He could see that there were gradations of evil and degrees of wrong, and he could tell that some were more acceptable than others. In his case, Bonhoeffer believed that practicing deception was better than letting other people die.
When it comes to Scripture, I think a very relevant passage is in Acts 5 where Peter and the apostles are told by the council not to teach about Jesus, but they resist human authority arguing that “We must obey God rather than men.”
In their predicament the apostles had to make a choice between two wrongs. They either had to sin by disobeying governing authorities or sin by disobeying God. Obviously, they chose not to disobey God as that would have been the greater evil. It didn’t make their disobedience to the council right, but it did make it justifiable.
Then, of course, there is the case of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 who lied to Pharaoh about the Hebrew children that he had ordered them to execute. When Pharaoh asked them why they defied him and let the children live, they made up a bogus story about being too slow to kill them.
God’s response to the midwives was to “deal well with them because they feared God.” In fact, God was so pleased with what the midwives did that He blessed them all with families of their own. The favor that God showed all of these women suggests that their lie was justified.
Likewise, the prostitute Rahab lied to the King of Jericho in Joshua 2 in order to protect the spies she was harboring on her roof. As a result of her action, they promised to “deal kindly and faithfully” with her and her family when they conquered the city.
More than that, Rahab is conspicuously included in the genealogy of Jesus and also counted among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. Although it doesn’t say she was actually commended for her lie, she certainly wasn’t condemned for it. Instead, Rahab was not only saved for her action but was also honored and immortalized in Scripture.
Taking all of this into account, it seems to me that telling the truth is as much an art as it is a science. Knowing what to do in a given situation requires wisdom and discernment, and it is often not quite as simple as just telling it like it is. It is usually more complex than that, and we would be naïve to suggest that it’s just a matter of not telling lies.
I am not suggesting that lying is ever right. What I am proposing is that it might be justified if a greater good or a significant truth is in jeopardy. Deception is always wrong, but it is sometimes less wrong than something else. When this happens, choosing the lesser evil would be the better thing to do.
That being said, I would suggest that the guiding principle for telling the truth ought to be not what is morally expedient for us but what would be the most pleasing to God. In other words, if saving the life of another human being is more important to God than my having a clean moral conscience, then acting in the interest of others is exactly how we tell the truth.
Good stuff, and along the lines of what Jesus tried to teach the Pharisees. Another example would be when David’s wife, Michal, lied to and purposefully misled Saul’s men that were sent to kill him… thus saving his life and protecting the divine kingdom that would come through him, but ultimately through Christ. It would seem that evaluating the morality of others’ behavior in extreme situations is better left up to God rather than us!
Scott, thanks for the comment and the great example! Appreciate it.
Great article. Do you think how people intepretate the 9th commandment is similar to 6th one? What I mean is … most people say the 6th commandment is “Do not kill.” when it’s really “Do not murder.” There is a big difference. If it was ‘kill’ then police officers, soliders and anyone who protected their family from an intruder would be guilty. Most people cite the 9th commandment as “Do not lie.” when it’s really “Do not bear false witness.” There is a difference. False witness is lying about someone else … slander and liable fall into this category. I believe there is a verse in the bible that says “let your yes be yes.” so we are not supposed to go around lying but I just wanted to throw that out there to get your thoughts. With respect, Bill.