Righteous lies
Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
What is a righteous lie?
The term itself is a contrast of truths – such as “jumbo shrimp”, “silent scream”, and numerous others. Righteous deals with being right and doing right in life; a lie is the opposite of living and doing right. A “Santa Claus” lie does not classify as a righteous lie because it is an attempt to deceive for purpose of control – most of the time.
A righteous lie would be one that is told in order to protect or help another - - perhaps to save a life. For an example one might say that telling a lie to the Nazi Gestapo when they were looking for Jews that there was none hiding in your house when you knew they were there and you were privy to it. Some would say that telling that lie would not classify as sin before God since it was told to protect from evil men.
Righteous lies in the Bible:
Some have thought about the mid wives during the time of Israel’s slavery in Egypt (Ex 1:15-20). Did they lie or is there more to the story than we know? It tells us plainly that God dealt well with them and gave them children of their own (Prov 11:18).
Unrighteous lies:
There have been those who lied and were immediately judged by God and suffered the consequences of that lie – Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-10). They lied to men but ultimately they lied to God and were harshly judged because of it.
Other lies:
The mid wives and Ananias and his wife were not the only ones recorded in Scripture that lied. Some other famous men and women lied but their record does not read the same as it does for the two examples cited.
Abraham Gen 12:11-12 – Abraham not only lied but had his wife to lie also in order to save his life. Did God bless him for his lie? Was God pleased with his lying? Where did Abraham go and what did he do after leaving Egypt? (Gen 13:1-4). Abraham lied twice about his wife (Gen 20:1-2) and again God does not reward him nor approve of his lie.
David 1 Sam 21:1-2 – David fled from Saul and went to the priest and told him that King Saul had sent him on a mission that required hast an d he had no time to take provisions, so he asked for bread from the temple. Did God bless David for his lie? Jesus referred to this instance only in reference to the eating of the bread not the lie (Matt12:1-4).
Rahab Josh 2:1-6 – Rahab definitely lied about the spies, but did God bless her for her lie? Was it her lie that spared her life and the lives of her family from destruction?
Truth is essential:
God does not bless lying or deception of any kind. In our spiritual warfare part of our amour is truth and it is the only part that wraps around our body. God’s command for truth is not negotiable, but an established part of His being – the Spirit of Truth, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We are to speak the truth in love and put away lying (Eph 4:15, 24)