15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
What I find amazing is that the Bible records these simple acts of sin. Unlike the Koran which cleans up its characters, the Bible shows these pillars of the faith in all their sinful impurity. Sarah has just overheard the conversation between the LORD and her husband Abraham. She is going to get pregnant at age 90 and have a son by next year. I think I might laugh out loud as well. This seems so farfetched. I am sure by this age she had cried all the tears she thought she could over not having children. It has been years of struggles for her, and now she overhears this conversation and she laughs. It might have been because it sounded too impossible or to joyous that she laughs. But she does laugh. Maybe she thought, “These men always have crazy ideas running through their heads. At least I know when it is time to call it quits!” So when Abraham comes and asks her about what she thought was a private reaction, she is afraid. The word can also carry the connotation of cowering or cringing. Both of these reactions are normally connected to lying. Often we have learned that cowering or cringing is the dead giveaway of lying, so we cover it up. You can always tell when a small kid is lying because of their body language. So Sarah lies and is caught in the lie. Of course once one lie is told we feel compelled to tell another one to support the first one, and so the cascade of lies begins. If we face our fear then we don’t feel the need to lie. Coming clean feels much better than lying in the long run. But in the short run, lying feels better. You don’t have to face the consequences of the lie right away. Those consequences are pushed down the road, and just like a snowball, the consequences grow with each push. Every time the lie is supported in a future conversation, the lie gets bigger and the consequences grow bigger as well. I want to encourage you to come clean sooner rather than later. Or even better, don’t tell the lie in the first place. Come clean immediately.
The Arnold Journey 