A Lying Tongue
Over the past 7 years, I have been working in a variety of mental health settings. From hospitals, to the community in a variety of settings and variety of ages. My youngest client on my case load was three and my oldest was around 65. People have sought help for a variety of reasons including housing, managing symptoms, needing medication and sometimes just needing some support and an ear to listent to their story. In some cases, I have enjoyed the people I have worked with and in some cases I have been glad to move on. In most cases, I think I can say without being prideful I have been helpful, but not always.
One of the hardest things to deal with is when people are less than truthful about their situation. People come to treatment for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they come because others want them there. Other times, they come because they want records showing they sought help due to a disability claim or because of a court case. In some cases, they actually want to get better and are willing to do the work required. In many of these cases, clients are motivated to cover up or lie about some things they don't want you to know about such as drug use.
One of the reasons this is hard to deal with is that it is hard to help someone when you don't have all the facts. It also erodes the ability to trust the person and what they are telling you. In mental health work, giving false or misleading information can lead to a misdiagnosis which can lead to the wrong treatment being provided. It wastes time and can lead to the proper treatment not happening. In a time when we are experiencing managed care time is very important. Have you ever thought about the importance of telling the truth. Have you ever considered that in John 8:44 Jesus refers to the devil himself as someone who has no truth in Him and is the "father of lies."
There are a number of places in scripture that talk about how much God hates lies. Proverbs 6:17; Proverbs 12:22, Colossians 3:9; Ephesians 4:25 all talk about lying and the importance of not lying. I like how in Hebrews 6:18 says that God himself cannot lie. That is really important because we can know and rely on the fact that God keeps his word and can be relied upon. This means we can trust God.
Telling the truth is important in so many ways. It is important in personal relationships. We need to know we can trust people to tell the truth and to not hide important information or feelings from us. It is important in court cases, so that witnesses tell the truth. It is important in government that our congress and President tell the truth and give us all the facts about their decisions. I believe we suffer now because many do not trust their government to tell them the truth. We should be careful to consider our words and to remember how much God hates lying and loves it when people tell the truth in love.
One of the hardest things to deal with is when people are less than truthful about their situation. People come to treatment for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they come because others want them there. Other times, they come because they want records showing they sought help due to a disability claim or because of a court case. In some cases, they actually want to get better and are willing to do the work required. In many of these cases, clients are motivated to cover up or lie about some things they don't want you to know about such as drug use.
One of the reasons this is hard to deal with is that it is hard to help someone when you don't have all the facts. It also erodes the ability to trust the person and what they are telling you. In mental health work, giving false or misleading information can lead to a misdiagnosis which can lead to the wrong treatment being provided. It wastes time and can lead to the proper treatment not happening. In a time when we are experiencing managed care time is very important. Have you ever thought about the importance of telling the truth. Have you ever considered that in John 8:44 Jesus refers to the devil himself as someone who has no truth in Him and is the "father of lies."
There are a number of places in scripture that talk about how much God hates lies. Proverbs 6:17; Proverbs 12:22, Colossians 3:9; Ephesians 4:25 all talk about lying and the importance of not lying. I like how in Hebrews 6:18 says that God himself cannot lie. That is really important because we can know and rely on the fact that God keeps his word and can be relied upon. This means we can trust God.
Telling the truth is important in so many ways. It is important in personal relationships. We need to know we can trust people to tell the truth and to not hide important information or feelings from us. It is important in court cases, so that witnesses tell the truth. It is important in government that our congress and President tell the truth and give us all the facts about their decisions. I believe we suffer now because many do not trust their government to tell them the truth. We should be careful to consider our words and to remember how much God hates lying and loves it when people tell the truth in love.
