Lies, Lies, and More Lies

Politicians running for office have a propensity for lying. They lie about their qualifications, about their heritage, about what they will do if elected, and about their opponents. “Going negative” with half-truths, truths taken out of context, and outright fabrications seems to be perfectly acceptable when it comes to politics. The public seems not to care and, in fact, anticipates no better.

One of the more recent and egregious examples is that of Congressman George Santos, who appears to have fabricated everything from when and how his mother died, to his heritage, to where he went to school and where he worked. Democrats and the media jumped all over this, just as Republicans were all over Senator Elizabeth Warren when it was discovered that she fabricated her heritage as being Native American to gain advantageous minority status in law school and more. Politicians of all stripes tell whoppers to get elected and to promote their agendas once in office, so this is not about party affiliation but about character and the state of modern democracy.

One might wonder, What’s the big deal—hasn’t it always been this way? But what happens when the lies do not stop once the campaign is over? Allan Melzer, writing for the Hoover Institution, made this observation: “Most of us learn at some point that politicians tell lies. We expect them to stop once they hold office or to face the consequences. In the past, politicians that violated the public trust resigned, most notably President Richard Nixon. Other lesser officials have also been punished for abusing public trust. No longer. In campaigns, and in office, politicians and their aides or supporters deliberately lie about matters of importance” (“Lies Politicians Tell Us,” Hoover.org, July 27, 2016).

Lies and deceptions have now become endemic from the highest ranks of public service. When Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas proclaims the border secure, the public can be forgiven for being skeptical when all the evidence points to a deliberate open-border policy. When Dr. Anthony Fauci declares that masks are useless, but later admits that he lied to protect the supply of masks for healthcare workers—and contradicts himself on numerous other occasions—is it any wonder that outrageous conspiracies have gained so much traction on social media?

Falsehoods are hardly confined to politics. The media has always had a difficult time getting the facts straight, even when they sincerely try. I learned this a long time ago when reading media reports about the beliefs and background of Tomorrow’s World, something I know intimately. Only on rare occasion did a reporter get the facts completely correct. Sometimes, a deliberately negative bias seemed to be skewing a report.

Lies are tearing apart the fabric of our nations. Deliberately distorting the truth is not new, but falsehoods are now so pervasively deliberate in governments and media that all credibility is lost.

The Age of Deceit

Lies and injustice go hand in glove. This point is made by the prophet Isaiah, who perfectly describes what we see daily from our leaders, mainstream media, and even less credible social media.

No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies…. Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity [fairness, impartiality] cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice (Isaiah 59:4, 13–15).

It is evident in America, and not only in America, that there is patently a double standard for justice. Some people are prosecuted mercilessly, while others commit crimes with impunity. Isaiah reminds us that plots are hatched behind closed doors in such an atmosphere.

They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. Their webs will not become garments, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths (Isaiah 59:5–7).

Whatever else can be said about Elon Musk, he has revealed the depth to which the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conspired with Twitter to suppress information contrary to their desired narrative. This goes beyond politics. Dirty tricks and plots to deceive cross all lines, and when the power of the state runs amok, trouble is on the horizon. Indeed, “truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey” (Isaiah 59:15).

The Father of Lies

Lies, injustice, evil plots—with each come the others. Jesus explained to the evil-minded Pharisees of His day that these sins bring us into bondage. The truth, by contrast, brings freedom (John 8:32). Jesus spared no words with those corrupt leaders as He revealed the source of their lies: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Justice cannot survive in an atmosphere of falsehoods. That is one reason why God gave us the Ninth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). Truth, justice, and impartiality are important to God. That is why we are told in this passage from Isaiah that “the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him…. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay…. He will fully repay” (Isaiah 59:15–16, 18).

One truth of Scripture that many—even most professing Christians—fail to recognize, though it is plainly stated in numerous passages, is that it is Satan the devil, the father of lies, who is “the god of this world” and therefore “the ruler of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). He is called “the prince of the power of the air,” the one who directs “the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2). In fact, Satan himself prevents this truth from being taught in mainstream churches.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that He is coming back as King of kings to remove that evil spirit being and to set up a new government on earth (Revelation 20:1–4). The Gospel Jesus Christ proclaimed is that of “the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14–15). This is the message Jesus said that He was sent to announce (Luke 4:43).

Our lies, our plots and injustices, and our arrogance of thinking we know better than our Creator—all these are bringing us to the brink of destroying all life from this earth (Matthew 24:21–22). It will be at that moment that our Savior will return to stop our insanity, to put an end to mankind’s lying way of governing and living, and to set up His Kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem. “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain’” (Zechariah 8:3). What a different world that will be!