I have a problem this has been bothering me.<\/p>\n
I am a Christian. I heard a brother in Christ mention something and I told him that he looked good when I thought that he did not. Should I tell him the truth, even if he did not know that I did not mean it?<\/p>\n
Is what I told him a lie if I did not mean what I said in the first place?<\/p>\n
Should I tell a brother that I lied to him if they do not know that I lied to him?<\/p>\n
Should I tell him that I lied to him if the lie does not hurt him?<\/p>\n
Please help me. I sure would appreciate it. I will be waiting for your answers. Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
Perhaps this would be easier if we compared it to a more tangible sin.<\/p>\n
Stealing is wrong because you take an item belonging to another person without permission. It doesn’t become wrong only when the person notices that he has a missing item. It doesn’t become wrong only if you intended to steal.<\/p>\n
Lying is telling someone something that you did not mean or do believe to be the truth. In a sense, it is stealing the knowledge of truth from another person. The victim’s lack of knowledge that you lied to him doesn’t change the sin. Your intentions do not change your sin.<\/p>\n
Again, when you repent, you return what you stole, even if the person hasn’t figured out that he missing something. You return what you stole, even if the amount you stole doesn’t really affect the person.<\/p>\n
In general, you should tell people the truth when you repent of your sin. Sometimes that is not possible because the sin happened so long ago that you don’t know where the person is any more or you might not even remember who it was that you lied to. It is for your sake, not the victim that you give the truth. And it is another lie to claim that any sin doesn’t hurt the victim.<\/p>\n
Truth should be told politely and with consideration of another person’s feelings. If telling the truth would have hurt, then the simple answer is to remain quiet. Everything does not need to be said.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I have a problem this has been bothering me. I am a Christian. I heard a brother in Christ mention something and I told him that he looked good when I thought that he did not. Should I tell him the truth, even if he did not know that I did not mean it?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[392],"class_list":["post-52237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-lying"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-have-to-tell-everyone-you-lied-to-that-you-lied-in-order-to-repent\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":0},"title":"Do you have to tell everyone you lied to that you lied in order to repent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the Bible say that if you lie, you have to tell whoever you lied to that you did? I am wondering because I have been obsessing over something that is probably stupid to obsess over. Anyway, it was a long time ago, and I don't even know for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43217,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-lied-about-my-virginity-to-keep-my-boyfriend-what-do-i-do-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":1},"title":"I lied about my virginity to keep my boyfriend. What do I do now?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been in a relationship before, but it didn't end well. My heart was broken from that moment. I felt miserable. But this nice Christian guy came into my life. He is very nice and he takes me to church. I started to know more and more about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39876,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-lied-to-my-preacher-about-having-committed-fornication-do-i-have-to-tell-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":2},"title":"I lied to my preacher about having committed fornication. Do I have to tell him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I started a relationship with a man about a month ago. One thing led to another and we had sex. I felt bad about it and asked for God's forgiveness, but didn't break it off with him. A few days ago I got a call from my pastor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40009,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-found-out-someone-i-trusted-had-lied-to-me-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":3},"title":"I found out someone I trusted had lied to me. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Sir, I have a friend whom I trusted so much. I always told her the truth, and I was very open with her. But yesterday I found out that she was lying to me about something she told me before. I am so heartbroken presently, and I don't know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34715,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-tell-the-other-woman-that-a-man-we-were-both-unknowingly-dating-was-two-timing\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":4},"title":"Do I need to tell the other woman that a man we were both unknowingly dating was two-timing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I greet you in the wonderful name of Jesus. I read the article about forgiveness and were to confess after sinning.\u00a0 I have a problem, which I hope you can help me with. I'm a Christian, and there was a time when I was interested in a brother at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33260,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-tell-my-husband-all-the-details-about-my-past-affair\/","url_meta":{"origin":52237,"position":5},"title":"Do I need to tell my husband all the details about my past affair?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I been married for about twenty years. Several years ago I had an affair with a man that went on for a few years. I gave myself to this man: mind, soul, and body. My husband found out, but I lied about the sex. 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