Proverbs 19:8-9

The one who acquires wisdom loves himself;
the one who preserves understanding will prosper.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the one who spouts out lies will perish.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been the recipient of a slanderous lie, but it’s not fun. I have, a couple of times. I’m not sure why that has happened, but it hasn’t been the best of times.

And it’s happened on a copule of different levels. There have been some of the ridiculous ones that come out of people’s frustration with my leadership. And those are the ones I somewhat understand. Somewhat. Of course, I think all of us should not lie about others and we certainly shouldn’t pass on lies. But these lies are what I would call laws of false deduction. These folks have observed something about the way I led and they made a false deduction about what I belief or want to do based on their assumptions.

That’s not a good thing to do. When you don’t know the truth, it’s best not to try to deduce it.

However, I have been the recipient of other lies as well. Not lies of deduction, but lies of imagination/creation. These are lies that are just flat out made up stories that have no foundation. These are the ones that kind of make you laugh, and yet, they’re extremely frustrating. Especially when they come back to you from others who have heard a variation of the story.

That’s an even worse thing to do. There is absolutely no reason you should create a lie about someone. If you’re insecure and need to do things to belittle others so that you feel better about yourself, then you should join a circus or an improv group or something where you can make fun of people when they’re expecting it. If you’re so insecure that you have to make up stuff about others, you probably need to do some serious, in-depth soul searching to discover what is at the root of your weakness. You may even need some counseling. Whatever you do, stop messing with other people’s lives because you’re insecure about your own.

Anyway, the good news is: if you’ve been the victim of some lies then it should offer some help to know that a false witness will not go unpunished. And one who spouts out lies will perish. You will be vindicated.

If you’re one who likes to make up lies, perhaps now would be a good time to start pursuing wisdom and find a way to love yourself. Pursue the things that matter, like wisdom and understanding. That’s where you’ll find the security you’ve been looking for. You won’t find security in belittling those around you. You’ll find security in growing in wisdom and understanding.