Two university students were taking chemistry together.
They had done so well in their work and labs, they were both going into the final exam with solid A’s.
But they became cocky and over-confident so they decided to party the night before the big test.
One thing led to another and they ended up sleeping late the next morning. They missed the exam. What were they going to do?
The two young men decided they would lie their way out of the situation.
So they went to the professor and said they had been visiting a sick, out-of-town friend the night before. On the way home, they had a flat tire and ended up stranded without a car jack or spare tire.
So they slept in the car until they could hitch a ride back into town the next morning—and that’s why they had missed the test.
They said they were sorry for missing the exam and wondered if they could take it that afternoon.
The professor thought for a moment and then decided it would be okay for them to take the test since they wouldn’t have time to discuss the answers with any of the students who had already taken it.
After a short time, the two students were placed in separate rooms, handed an exam booklet and told to begin.
The first question was a simple one for five points.
“This will be easy,” the students thought.
Then they turned the page for question number two.
It was worth 95 points and asked: “Which tire went flat?”
This humorous story illustrates the fact that it never pays to tell a lie.
I imagine those two students realized when they saw the second question that the professor wasn’t as stupid as they thought he was. They were caught in a lie with no way out.
If you’ve ever been caught in a lie, you already know that lying makes it hard for people to trust you.
That’s one of the reasons the Bible has a lot to say about telling the truth:
The first part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:14 is the belt of truth.
The ninth commandment in Exodus 20:16 is: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Jesus said in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
The biggest reason we are to speak the truth is because Jesus is the Truth.
He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
He also taught in John 8:44 that the Devil is a liar and the father of lying.
So whenever we tell a lie we are listening to the Devil instead of Jesus.
So if we truly want to be like Jesus, let’s strive to speak the truth. And that’s the truth that will set anyone free.

Rev. Doug Johnson is the senior pastor at Raven Assembly of God in Raven, Virginia.