There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: (#2) a lying tongue... (Proverbs 6:16-17b)

My oldest son, Elliot, is a wonderful little boy.  When I think of him, I think of a goofy grin, a gentle spirit, an earnest heart, and a bright mind.  I love him to pieces.  He is highly reliable and responsible for an eight-year-old -- and I would generally consider him to be one of the most trustworthy kids I know.  Even so, he's human.  He makes mistakes sometimes, like we all do.  And I remember one mistake, in particular, which felt like the opening of Pandora's mythical, un-closeable box.

I still remember the first time that Elliot lied to me.

Neither the context nor the content of the lie were all that important -- I honestly can't recall many of the specifics about the lie itself, though I do remember that the fabrication was so transparent I could immediately see right through it -- but what really stood out, and what still clings to my memory, was the nauseating, horrifying, heart-breaking realization that my "innocent little boy" had just stepped into the world of lies.  It was sad and sickening.  I imagine that other parents also have similar stories of the moments when their children have crossed that unfortunate line.  It feels very heavy -- almost cosmic.  You get an idea of the gleam in Adam's eye, when God first questioned him after he ate the forbidden fruit.

Indeed, when our hearts respond to the pain of our children becoming liars, it seems to me that they pretty closely approximate the heart of God and His feelings about lying.  Proverbs 6 says that a lying tongue is something that God hates -- that is completely detestable to him.  And as strong as that language might sound:  I know exactly how it feels.  When my son joined the legions of liars around the world, I despised the fact that he had to be corrupted in such a way, by his natural flesh.  But I didn't stop loving my son.  How could I?  He is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone.  He's my boy, and I love him unconditionally -- imperfect as he may be.  But seriously, do I hate that genetic (species-wide) predisposition for lying.  God feels the same way towards us.  We are made in His image, and He loves us unconditionally -- imperfect as we may be.  But seriously, does He hate our lying tongues.

The truth is something to be taken very seriously.  The closer we stay by truth, the closer we stay by God.  The truth gives us the freedom we need to follow God whole-heartedly (John 8:31-41); and by extension, the truth gives us the means to trust one another and live in relationship.  We should all learn to hate a "lying tongue," even if we will be stuck with it until the Father of Lies (John 8:42-47) is finally and eternally deposed (Revelation 20).