God, Brian Williams, and Lying

Brian Williams: Image from Yahoo! Images

The latest story stealing headlines is the debacle involving NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.  He is one of the most recognizable faces on television.  Recently, questions have arisen regarding Williams' honesty and integrity in the events that he covers.  Most notably, he claimed that a helicopter that he was on in 2003 was hit by enemy fire when it was not. 

Sadly, in the era in which we live, events such as these are not too shocking.  News anchors are more polarized than ever.  Sensationalism abounds.  The truth is often distorted or forsaken in order to be entertaining.  Simply put: it is hard to trust anyone these days.

How are Christians supposed to conduct themselves in the midst of these things?  It is easy to stretch the truth in order to make something "more interesting."  In fact, I've been guilty of spicing up stories with less than true statements plenty of times in the past.  We have to be careful.  God expects us to be honest!

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. (Proverbs 12:22)

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. (Colossians 3:9)

When one makes the decision to become a Christian, they are making the decision to die to their old self and sin.  Lying is a part of the old life before a person becomes a child of God.  We must be careful each day to be honest in all that we do and say because lying is not a Christian practice.