Proverbs 26:28 — “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
TL;DR: Lying has a way of becoming a way of life before you even realize it. This post takes an honest look at what the Bible says about deception and flattery, and how walking in truth — even years into recovery — is still a daily choice worth fighting for.
I once heard Dr. David Jeremiah say something that stuck with me: “Gossip is saying something about someone behind their back that you wouldn’t say to their face, and flattery is saying something to someone’s face you wouldn’t say behind their back.” That distinction is worth sitting with for a minute.
A lying tongue is poison. Plain and simple.
When I was a drinker, I had learned to lie about almost everything. Not on purpose, really. I was just so embarrassed about who I was and what I was doing that I made up stories so I didn’t have to face my own reality. It started small, and then lying became a way of life. If you had asked me back then, “Are you a liar?” I would have looked you dead in the eye and said, “I don’t lie!” I had told so many lies that I genuinely believed them myself.
Even today, many years sober, I still have to fight the battle of believing lies in my own head. That is one of the sneaky things about deception — it does not always come from someone else. Sometimes it is the false narrative running on repeat in your mind. Just because you think something does not make it true.
Here is what I love about Proverbs 26:28: “A lying tongue hates those it hurts.” I used to hate the people who caught me in a lie. I did not understand why at the time, but the Bible named it perfectly. The connection between lying and resentment is real, and Scripture called it long before any of us lived it.
That is the cool thing about God’s Word. It has the answers. It always has. Walking in the Spirit of truth is not just a one-time decision — it is a daily practice, and it is one of the most freeing things you can choose. May you find yours today by opening His Word.
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