7 Bible Verses for When Your Kids Lie to You Faster Than You Can Say Sweet Apple Pie & What You Can Do About It

Kids can say the sweetest of things and the sourest of things. 

You never know what is going to come out of their darling little mouth's at any given time.  

Somehow, they always seem to be baking up some sort of surprise for their parents to hear about and they are not alway the good kind.

The raising of children is the hardest thing a parent will ever do!

Thankfully, we have God's word to help guide.

What does the bible say about lying

Let's start at the beginning. This is the easiest way to teach a child about lying and what happened in the bible to those in the bible that where not honest.

The first lie ever told was in The Garden of Eden.

As I'm sure you know, the snake lied to Adam and Eve in the garden.  The Devil tricked them into eating an apple from the tree in the centre of the garden that the Lord said not to eat from. 

This brought grave consequences to them both.

To put it simply, they where disciplined by their Father God.

And, this is the model the Lord has set for us.

God showed great love in this.  He did not shame them in fact he covered up their shame with clothing but things changed greatly for Adam and Eve. 

Obviously, when our children lye we are not going to through them out of the home. However, there are many tools the Lord provides us in teaching our children how and why honesty is important. 

3 Keys to Understanding Why Kids Lie

1 - Fear of Disappointing: 

The biggest reason why kids lie is because they love you.  Yes it's because they love you so much that they do not want to displease you by telling you the big bad truth.

2 - Fear of the Reaction

 They are afraid of mom or dad's reaction.

• Maybe they know you will yell at them.
• Maybe you will belittle them with words.
• Maybe you bring down the wrath of God's "all lier's are going to hell" lecture on them.
• Maybe you become violent.
• Maybe you are going to take their electronic devices away from the for unreasonable amounts of time.

3 - Avoiding Consequences 

Maybe you have set the rules already, and your child knows them well, however, they are confident that they don't want to deal with them.

There could be any number of reason why your child is lying to you or others and each situation is unique.  However, you can get to the root of the problem if you use grace.

How to Prune Lying from Your child

1 -  Model Honesty:

Children are like water jugs and they hold onto what is put into them until it is poured out.  If they see you making honesty a priority they will, too.  After the jug is overflowing they won't be able to do anything but water their honesty tree with nothing but good water.  Kids are like sponges and they absorb everything we do.

2 - Teach What Lying Means:

If your child is young they might need help defining what it means to lye.  

Some children have very creative and active imaginations that need molding with God's help.  Gently teach the difference between lying and the truth will help young children learn.

3 - Discus Conséquences: 

Talking with your child and letting them know what the results of lying are.  If they know what the result of their actions are they can begin to learn how to make good decisions. 

Remember, tree's need pruning every once and awhile. The Lord does this to us all the time. So, don't be angry or disappointed when your child makes a mistake and tells a lie.  There always is a reason why.  It's up to us parents to get to the root of it.   Showing grace and encourage your child to keep growing in this area of their life will help them to be successful. 

How to help your kids tell the truth

1 - Be Intentional In Catching Truths:

Recognizing and identifying when your child tells the truth is a great way to encourage them.  Many kids thrive off of this type of attention from their parents.

2 - Set Rules:

Making sure that everyone knows the rules about lying will create an environment that fosters honest. 

Teaching and/or discussing what will happen if you child lies is a key to success for them. Knowing what is expected from a parent can help a child make the right decision when they don't know how.

With older kids and teens we don't want to set them kids up for failure.  Talking with your kids to negotiate or "renegotiate" the rules is key.  Making a plan that works for both you and your tweens or teens will bring more connection and less secretes to hide lying. 

3 - Reward Good Behaviour: 

The best way to encourage good behaviour is to use positive reinforcement by celebrating your desired behaviours. This can be with positive words, a sticker chart, marble jar tracker, or any reward that your child loves like a special ice cream or a trip to the park.

7 Bible Verses about Lying for Kids

1 - Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.  (Proverbs 12:19)

2 - Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.  (Proverbs 25:18)

3 - A man who tells lies about someone will be punished. He who tells lies will not get away. (Proverbs 19:5)

4 - You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stands. (Exodus 23:1)

5 - Don't testify against your neighbors without cause; don't lie about them.(Proverbs 24:28)

6 - But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying. (James 3:14)

7 - Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all it's wicked deeds! (Colossians 3:9)