Does Everyone Always Deserve the Truth?

There has long been a struggle within me about truth-telling, particularly in relation to a story in the book of Joshua in the Bible. Related to this are similar accounts I have read of Christians during World War II and their differing responses to Nazis who were searching for Jews. The dilemma for the Christians, of course, was whether they should tell the Nazis the truth about hidden Jews.

Maybe you’ve read about the ten Boom family, particularly Corrie. They hid approximately 800 Jews in their homes over the years, but not everyone agreed on what they should do when, inevitably, the Gestapo would come to question them about whether they were hiding any Jews. Similarly, Nazi soldiers would round up young non-Jewish men to fight in the war. Corrie believed that it was morally right to lie in order to save Jewish lives as well as to prevent non-Jews from having to fight for an evil regime. Her sisters Betsie and Nollie, however, believed lying was always wrong and that they should trust God for protection.

One day, soldiers came to the home of Nollie and her husband in order to round up young men to fight. When they questioned young Cocky, their daughter, about her three brothers, she truthfully replied that one of them was away. Regarding the other two, she laughed nervously and said that they were “under the table.” This was also true; there was a mat under the table, and there was a trap door to a cellar under that. One of the officers lifted the overhanging tablecloth, slapped Cocky, and shouted, “Don’t take us for fools!” The soldiers then stormed out of the house.

There was another time when Nollie and Annaliese, a young Jewish girl who had been living with Nollie’s family, were taken away by the Gestapo; Nollie had told the truth when questioned about whether Annaliesse was Jewish. Nollie was imprisoned, and Annaliese was taken to a holding facility for Jews. However, a few weeks (?) later, Annaliese and other Jews in that holding facility were rescued, and Nollie was released from prison.

Some Christians have pointed to those two stories (as well as some others) and said that it is always wrong to lie, that we need to have faith that the Lord will reward our honesty; others have said, like Corrie did, that sometimes we have a moral right to lie.

R.C. Sproul, that theological giant of the later 20th century and on into this one until the Lord took him home in 2017, tells a story in his book Pleasing God similar to that of Cocky, above. In that case (also in the Netherlands), when the Nazi soldiers asked a woman if she was hiding any boys in her home, she answered, “No, there are no boys here.” The soldiers shot up the floor, watching the woman’s face as they did so; her face remained impassive–even though her son was hiding under the floorboards in that same area of the living room! Eventually, the soldiers left, and “the mother rushed to the hiding place. Her son emerged unscathed. Her deception had saved him.” Sproul goes on to say that we are not pleasing God when we tell the truth to people who do not deserve it.

Sproul writes in the same chapter of his book about two women in the Bible: Rebekah (the mother of Jacob and Esau in the book of Genesis) and Rahab, a non-Jewish prostitute in Jericho in the book of Joshua. Rebekah helps Jacob deceive his father (Isaac) by pretending to be Esau, thus receiving the birthright that should have been Esau’s. Sproul calls Rebekah the “Mother of the lie,” rightly saying that “God does not require the sins of humans to accomplish His holy will.”

Rahab, on the other hand, was a prostitute in a situation similar to what the ten Boom family and others faced during World War II. Joshua had sent two men to spy out the land that the Israelites (who were God’s chosen people) were planning to invade, particularly the city of Jericho. Rahab hid the spies, and when she was questioned, she lied and sent the Jericho soldiers on a wild-goose chase. After that, here is what she told the spies, in part: “I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” (Joshua 2:9) She goes on to ask the spies to spare her and her family when the Israelites attack Jericho, and that is what they do. And in Hebrews 11:31, we read, “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

Sproul says that some people put Rebekah and Rahab in the same category; in other words, they think that Rahab was blessed in spite of her lie, rather than because of it. They say that the reason she is mentioned in Hebrews 11 is because of her faith, which is certainly true. However, as with the Nazi soldiers, Sproul says that not everyone is entitled to the truth.

I do not claim to have always told the truth, even as a Christian; however, it is something that I have strived to do–and it is something which my wife and I instilled in our children. In my post about trusting the Lord when we have no control, I tell a story about when I was teaching in a Third World country almost forty years ago. I was in a situation where I had resolved in advance to tell the truth when I was questioned about two visitors to my campus–two men that I had told not to come! You can read what I said in response to the two specific questions that I was asked later–and how the Lord protected me and others. https://keithpetersenblog.com/2022/06/16/trusting-the-lord-when-you-have-no-control/

Was Corrie ten Boom right in not telling the truth to Nazi soldiers? Were Cocky and Nollie right in telling the truth to them? Was Rahab right in lying to the soldiers who came to question her about the Israelite spies? Should I have felt free to lie, if “necessary,” during the meeting with my school officials? Is R.C. right in saying that not everyone deserves the truth?

In truth, I cannot answer these questions (except the one about me; the answer is an emphatic “No”). I think that in the end, it comes down to a matter of conscience. One thing I will say is that if someone came to my house asking, let’s say, for the location of my son, I would not necessarily reveal that location; it would depend on the reason(s) for the person’s asking for it. I probably wouldn’t lie, either, but would just say that I would have to ask my son about it. Now for a completely hypothetical extension: If someone pointed a gun at my head and asked for my son’s location, I would not reveal it; if someone pointed a gun at my wife’s head, I would lie about the location, at least the specifics of it. As I said, this last part is completely hypothetical, and my God-fearing son is not on the run! I’m trying to make a comparison, however poorly.

Here’s an example that is more germane to this post and not purely hypothetical. I have heard about Christians who think it would be OK to lie to ICE agents about harboring illegal immigrants; I think those Christians are wrong. I would not knowingly “harbor” an illegal; on the other hand, I would not deliberately direct ICE agents to someone I knew was an illegal unless I knew s/he was a “clear and present danger” to society.

I lean strongly in the direction of truth-telling; I think it can become far too easy to justify lying. May the Lord grant us wisdom in this!