Q: How can I overcome the sin of lying? I pray every night and every morning on this and have failed. I am getting discouraged because through prayer I can conquered my other sins (porn, lust, greed, etc.), but the sin of lying I can’t overcome. I read Scripture to help, but nothing is working. Proverbs 6:17 says that the Lord hates liars. Please help. — M.S.
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:
It might be good to keep John 8:32 in mind: “The truth will set you free.”
Ask yourself why you lie so much.
It might be because you are afraid that people will reject you if they know the mistakes you make.
My advice is this: If you mess up, just be honest about it. People will probably love you more, not less, if they perceive that you are honest and humble.
Many people sense when someone is lying, so attempts to hide the truth usually backfire. Worse yet, we can start to believe our own lies, which leads to other problems.
If you want to overcome the vice of lying, start working on the opposite virtue.
Be quick to admit a mistake or to apologize if you misjudge a situation. Consider coming clean on lies you’ve told in the past (using prudence, of course).
Also, force yourself to be precise in your speech and e-mails. Instead of saying, “Yeah, I went there hundreds of times,” say, “Yeah, I went there once a month for two years.”
It might help to go to confession frequently, and to start making reparations for the lies that have hurt others. This includes prayers and almsgiving and mortification.
For a related resource, see this video by Father Mike Schmitz.
Count on my prayers.
