Christians are under oath all the time

[Darren2013]

It may be an uncomfortable thing but when a person becomes a Christian then they are pretty much taking an oath to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is an oath they are under 24/7 everywhere and not just in a human courtroom.

 

Why? The answer is obvious. God is watching and sees everything on His candid camera. I'm a Christian and I have broken that oath by telling some lies. I have committed perjury in one sense.

 

Do you think the act of lying is more disgraceful from someone who claims to be a Christian than someone who doesn't claim to be one?

 

So what is the penalty for perjury? I don't believe it is hell. I just believe the penalty is natural consequences that God allows to run their course. Lies have a way of coming out somehow. You'd be surprised how lies get exposed no matter how careful one plans to be in covering their tracts.

 

This is especially true with married men having affairs on the side. Women are more in tune with spiritual senses than men are and they intuitively know when they are being betrayed behind their backs. They just know.

[Taramere]

I think the penalty is that people lose trust in you, and that you have to work harder than other people to be believed. To regain trust. So ultimately by lying you will be making life more difficult for yourself.

 

Also, barring people who have antisocial personality disorders, most people are going to feel guilty about lying. Probably everybody lies about something at some point, Darren. Although for the most part I try to be very truthful, there are times I have told lies in order to get myself out of a sticky situation - and it leaves you with a horrible feeling inside that you can't really shake off. One of the worst things about that is that sometimes the people most likely to sit in judgement about it are people who lie themselves, and do so in a pretty guilt-free manner. As this is a thread in the religious section, let he who is without sin throw the first stone etc.

 

But none of that is geared towards encouraging you to believe it's okay to lie. I just think that sometimes to move on and do better, you have to forgive yourself for the behaviour you're trying to move on from. Otherwise, it remains a part of who you are, and will carry on eating you up. Since Christianity is geared towards learning forgiveness, your faith will perhaps help you with that. Where you might need some extra help is in actually changing your behaviour and breaking this habit of lying. Being told it's a sin won't necessarily result in you stopping it.

 

The "sinner" approach is helpful in creating the sense of discomfort and guilt that helps motivate people to want to change - but it doesn't necessarily show them how to make those changes. It might be that you'll need some face to face counselling, supplemented by the support of friends, family and any advice you get on this board to start making those changes.