Proverbs 12:19
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The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
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Lying will save you only for a very short time, and then judgment comes. One lie will require more lies to cover it, and then you will be discovered as a liar and fraud. But the man who always tells the truth will live securely and be prospered by God and men.
We have two metonyms here - lip and tongue - which stand for the words they produce. Both serve the same purpose. They are used to represent the speaking ability of a man and the words he utters. The lip of truth describes a man who always uses his lips to speak the truth. A lying tongue describes a man who often uses his tongue to form lies.
The LORD is a God of truth (Deut 32:4). He hates lies and liars (6:16-19). All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8,27). The Lord Jesus is the Faithful and True Witness, because He loved truth and always spoke the truth (Rev 3:14; 19:11). A great man worthy of honor and promotion is a man of truth (Ex 18:21; Jer 5:1; Zech 8:16).
The devil is the father of lies; he told the first lie we know of in Eden (Gen 3:4-5). And things have not changed since. His whole existence is based on a lie - rebellion against the LORD. He is a deceiver, and so are all his ministers. They transform themselves to appear as something very different than reality in order to seduce (II Cor 11:3-4,13-15).
An honest man always tells the truth. He does not exaggerate or embellish facts. He takes pains to make sure his claims can be proven. If he cannot prove a matter, then he does not speak or offers only an opinion. Because his word can be trusted, men put more and more confidence in him, until he is established with an honorable reputation for integrity.
Reader, it is your solemn duty to tell the truth regardless of cost to yourself or others. Rather than looking at faces and considering their thoughts to determine if you should tell the truth, look at the face of a holy God and consider His thoughts about telling a lie!
A liar is always using words to cover his sins and pretend to knowledge greater than he actually has. Once he has told one lie, he usually must tell another one to cover the first, and so his hypocrisy gets worse and worse. When he is finally discovered as a cheat and liar, he is avoided by all men, punished by the magistrate, and judged by the Lord.
Reader, it is your solemn duty to hate lies, regardless of the advantage or benefit the devil or the world tells you might come by them. Don't be gullible like Eve! The consequences of that lie were horrible! If you lie, you will be discovered and punished soon.
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