People who lie have to tell more lies to cover up their previous lies. It’s a never-ending chain of falsehoods that leads to a life of bondage. How much better to tell the truth! There’s great freedom in the truth when you don’t have to cover up anymore.
When God describes what it is to truly love, He says that it involves loving the truth. In 1 Corinthians 13:6, He says that love “Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.”
Lies are used to deceive and manipulate others in order to further our own ends, and that’s not a loving thing to do. That’s usury – and it’s very selfish. Therefore, God doesn’t want us to rejoice in iniquity – to scheme and plan in order to get our own way. Rather, He wants us to rejoice in the truth.
The word “rejoice” occurs twice in this verse; but there is an interesting variation in the original Greek. The first time it is used, it is the simple word for “rejoice,” and means “to be cheerful and glad – even happy. The second time, however, a preposition is added to the front of it instead of chairei, it is synchairei. Now the preposition syn means “with or together.” So, the second word literally means “to rejoice with.”
So here’s the point: God’s kind of love bonds with the truth. It rejoices with the truth. Love and truth are inseparable, like Siamese twins. Have you ever seen Siamese twins? There are numerous cases of twins joined together in ways that cannot be separated. So, they live their whole lives together. Whatever one does, the other also does.
Now that’s the way truth and love are – they are Siamese twins. When you tell the truth, you are being considerate of others, and that’s what love is all about. Love is not hiding behind falsehoods. It is being transparent and open. It is living truthfully. “Love rejoices in truth.”
Now you know the real meaning of the word. Hey – love never lies. So quit lying and start loving.