Genesis chapters 18, 19

18 Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre; as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day,² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood at a little distance from him. He ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the ground³ And said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, I beg of you.⁴ Let a little water be brought, and you may wash your feet and recline and rest yourselves under the tree.⁵ And I will bring a morsel (mouthful) of bread to refresh and sustain your hearts before you go on further—for that is why you have come to your servant. And they replied, Do as you have said.⁶ So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, Quickly get ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and bake cakes.⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd and brought a calf tender and good and gave it to the young man [to butcher]; then he [Abraham] hastened to prepare it.⁸ And he took curds and milk and the calf which he had made ready, and set it before [the men]; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate."

I can only imagine how I would feel if Scott rushed in from work and said,"Quick, make a meal; the Lord is here!" 

(Seriously, this Bible is so much more wild, crazy and mind-blowing than any novel; and I've read everything from romance to murder mysteries to science fiction.)

^"9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, [She is here] in the tent.^10 [a][The Lord] said, I will surely return to you when the season comes round, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah was listening and heard it at the tent door which was behind Him.¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with [young] women. [She was past the age of childbearing].¹² Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband), being old also?¹³ And the Lord asked Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I really bear a child when I am so old?¹⁴ Is anything too hard or too wonderful ^[b]for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.¹⁵ Then Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh."

Reading about Sarah listening behind the tent door made me chuckle because I've done this!

And then, as she heard the Lord's word, she laughed! (Well, it was pretty funny.)

Then she lied about laughing. She didn't have to lie to the Lord about laughing. 

I don't know if you've noticed, but the evil spirit of lying is alive and well in today's world! You are being lied to on a daily basis. Multiple times, daily. And  sometimes you may suspect you're being lied to, but many times you have NO idea!

Either you are being lied to, or, YOU are compulsively lying. 

Most of the time, this habit starts at a very young age. Every time you feel you've gotten away with lies, you are falsely empowered, thinking you are brilliant and much smarter than everyone else. (Parents, you must nip this in the bud with your children at the earliest age possible. It's not gonna go away. It will only become worse.) You chuckle at the poor fools around you who believe you. HELLO????? The only one being fooled is yourself. The only people who believe you are new friends who don't know you at all. But they quickly learn that you cant be counted on or trusted. Your evil habit may start with a harmless excuse, and then move on to an outright lie.

"How do you know he/she's lying? His/Her lips are moving!" People are saying this about you!

"I am so tired of my lying. I tell myself that I will stop and I never do. I lie about small things, I lie to my girlfriend constantly I want to stop lying. I want to repair my relationship with my girlfriend and her family... Can I change?? Where Can I Get Help??" 

As I am sure you have experienced lying can be extremely destructive to relationships. In my work with couples I have found that even the simplest lies can be very hard for the relationship to recover from. Obviously a person who lies undermines another’s trust which is the very foundation of a solid relationship. 

For some people lying becomes habitual. It is something they may have become accustomed to in their family of origin in order to escape punishment or to garner praise. For others lying is actually pathological which means that the person doing the lying actually believes their own tales. Pathological lying is much harder to remedy and is usually a symptom of a larger mental health issue. 

You need to consider your reasons for lying in order to ascertain the root causes. Are you lying to avoid undesirable consequences or are you doing so to boost your own self-image? Fear of abandonment can also cause a person to create their own reality. Is lying something that you have done all of your life? The process of discovering why you are struggling with the truth may take a while and it would be helpful if you could explore these concerns with a therapist. A therapist can assist you in finding the answers to these questions and can even set up behavioral systems to help break the cycle of lying. 

If you truly want to repair your relationship with your girlfriend then you need to come clean with her. Let her in on the exploration of your motivation to lie constantly. Tell her your fears about being truthful and ask for her patience and understanding as you try to make changes in your life. Your girlfriend can even help reinforce the work you do with a therapist and assist in keeping you honest in a non-combative way. Both of you will need new tools to redefine the relationship. Regardless of what you have been lying about you need to make a conscious decision to begin on a path of truth telling. There will likely be fallout from the truth being revealed but in the long run your life and your relationships (with this girlfriend or any other) will be greatly improved. 

- Cyndi 

Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. (Leviticus 19:11)

No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. (Psalm 101:7)

The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. (Proverbs 12:22)

You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors. (Psalm 5:6)

Better to be poor than a liar. (Proverbs 19:22)

He whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble. (Proverbs 17:20)

O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? (Jeremiah 5:3)

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. (Proverbs 12:19)

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. (Proverbs 24:26)

The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. (Proverbs 13:5)

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (Proverbs 11:3)

I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. (Psalm 119:163)

A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin. (Proverbs 26:28)

Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. (Jeremiah 9:5)

You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. (Psalm 52:3)

Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor. (Proverbs 25:18)

Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking!" (Proverbs 26:18-19)

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25)

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Deuteronomy 5:20)

Keep falsehood and lies far from me. (Proverbs 30:7-8)

Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. (Psalm 119:29)

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. (Psalm 34:12-13)

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:37)

Oh, and here's one more sobering scripture about lying.

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake of fire which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death." Rev. 21: 8 KJV

^"8 But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)—[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death." Rev. 21:8 AMP

A lying spirit opens the door for other evil spirits to come into your life. It's only a matter of time and you will embrace (if you haven't already embraced) the other sins listed in this scripture as well. 

Do you suspect you are being lied to on a regular basis? Pray every day, continuously, that God will reveal the truth to you and to the liar(s) in your life. Oh, and keep your mouth shut about your suspicions, and let God do His perfect work. Sometimes you get in God's way by talking or accusing. 

James Hawk, who is a drug and alcohol counselor, is a good friend of our family. He says, "If you accuse someone of doing something, that's the very thing they're gonna go out and do."

On the other hand, you may be imagining the lies. If you have no evidence, only suspicions, just send up desperate prayers to God. He hears every prayer and sees every tear. And wait. Again, be kind to the person; being very careful with your words. Words can destroy. 

Are YOU a habitual liar? Pray and study God's word about honesty! God will deliver you, and that's a promise! The key is don't become discouraged. You are a work in progress.  

"Dear God, I want to be honest. You are not going to wink at my lies. Not even the smallest, most insignificant lies. My good works, prayers and fasting are not enough to cover up a lying spirit. I want to be REAL with myself, others, and YOU. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN."