Ephesians 5:8-9 - How Dogs Lie To Us

The Bible tells us to, "speak the truth in love," "speak truth each one of you with his neighbor." (Ephesians 4:15 & 25, New Living Translation, 2015)

But being truthful involves more than what is said.

We have a dog that--without saying a word or a bark--is great at lying to us, especially if only one of us is at home. He will stand by his dish with a pitiful look of hunger. His eyes implore, "No one has fed me. I'm dying of starvation. Just a crumb of dog food. Please."

We finally caught on and text each other messages like, "The Liar Has Been Fed."

Dogs aren't the only ones to spread untruth without saying a word. Humans do it by chuckling (or gasping) at someone else's bit of gossip, even when we know it's untrue.

A nod of the head, an upraised eyebrow, a shrug of the shoulder; any number of gestures can knowingly lead others to a false conclusion.

Even an insincere handshake or a smile that masks a bitter heart are non-verbal lies.

Father, Your word tells us that "once we were full of darkness, but now we have light from the Lord...this light within us produces only what is good and right and true."
So give us courage, honesty, and love to "live as people of light," living the truth as well as speaking it in love. Amen. (Ephesians 5:8-9, NLT)