1 Samuel 21:2 (NKJV)
“So David said to Ahimelech the priest, ‘The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.’”

Today’s devotion is tricky as we examine the issue of lying, especially by God’s servants. We are encouraged to learn from the saints of old, but should we also copy their failures? Does God endorse lying?

In this story, we see David telling a stark lie and sounding very convincing about it. He lied about where he was coming from and where he was going. And he was lying to the priest of God nonetheless. Is this acceptable?

According to the NLT, David said, “The king has sent me on a private matter (and) he told me not to tell anyone why I am here.” This could not be further from the truth, and yet David lied even without flinching.

When Jesus mentioned this event in Mark 2:25-26, He did not point out the lie in David’s action. Why was this? We would have expected the Lord to reject this act of lying openly, but He did not. Does that mean He affirmed it?

In many other places, we see God’s servants lying as well. For example, in Jeremiah 38:27, Jeremiah lied when the officials came to ask him what he had discussed with the king. The real question is, “Does God endorse lies?”

Since we do not know all of God’s mysteries, let us cling to what is clearly written. Colossians 3:9 says, “Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.”

Verse 10 says, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” As we put on our new nature and are renewed in Christ, we grow in knowing God and becoming like Him. This is God’s will.

Lying does not fit into God’s nature. David and Jeremiah did it to survive. We are not here to judge them, but in Christ Jesus, we live by a higher law. We are new creatures in Christ. Let us make no space for lying at all.