“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.” – 1 Sam. 21:2
In 1 Samuel 21:2, David was fleeing from King Saul and sought provisions and assistance from Ahimelech the priest. To us, it may seem understandable as to why David would lie to him. After all, a war was going on and a good soldier has a duty to deceive his enemies. But nowhere was David’s lie condoned. In fact, his dishonesty ultimately led to the massacre of 85 priests (1 Sam. 22:9-19).
That said, is there ever a time when lying is the right thing to do?
There are two instances in the Old Testament when lying resulted in a favorable outcome (Ex. 1:15-21, when the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh to save the lives of many Hebrew infants; Joshua 2:5, when the prostitute Rahab lied to protect the Israelite spies).
A more modern illustration was during the Holocaust of WWII, when Corrie ten Boom was hiding Jews in her home to protect them from the Nazis. Nazi soldiers frequently visited her house and asked her if she knew where any Jews were hiding in her community. Being a devout Christian, Corrie knew that lying was a sin. But she also knew that to tell the truth in that situation would lead to the certain deaths of those she was protecting. She was faced with a terrible dilemma! But she wasn’t about to give up the Jews living with her in hiding. She chose the lesser of two evils. As was the case with the Midwives and Rahab, it seems fairly clear that the Lord’s blessing was upon her also.
Nowhere does the Bible declare that lying is the right thing to do. And at the same time, the Bible does not declare that there is no possible instance in which lying is an acceptable option.
Let’s face it – how many people today will find themselves in a situation such as Corrie’s – when telling a lie will save the lives of others? Barring that unlikely scenario, lying is never condoned.
Former Blackout Artist 