5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

My question is: are there limitations on telling a lie?  My wife and I have been separated for nineteen months.  My wife is in a relationship presently and seems to be happy even though we are not divorced.  I pay child support for our daughter.  She has asked me to refinance my home and lower the house payment in order for her to make the house payments.  In order to do this, the mortgage company requires that I live there... which will not happen.  If I refinance and answer the question correctly, I will be lying and committing fraud.  Yet, if I don’t, they will lose the house because they are not able to make the mortgage payment.  I want to do the right thing according to God’s Word.

Sincerely,
From The Outside Looking In

Dear From The Outside Looking In,

Lying is never right.  God tells us to be plain and honest people – let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’ (Matt 5:37).  Doing the right thing is hardest when it costs us something… but that is part of taking up our cross and following Christ (Matt 16:24).  Be honest with your wife (who should not be in a relationship with another man… but that is a separate issue), and make it clear that you cannot refinance a home you aren’t living in – that is the law.  Who knows, it may make room for you to have a conversation about reconciliation (1 Cor 7:10-11).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I have a question regarding the passage of Joshua 24:15.  According to this passage, Joshua is giving the people a choice of which god to serve while he says he'll serve only Yahweh.  But in earlier chapters and passages, God's anger burned against any believer who served other gods.  So did Joshua really mean what he said, or was he just testing the loyalty of the believers?

Sincerely,
Idol Curiosity

Dear Idol Curiosity,

Joshua is making an emphatic point that serving God is a choice… and we must all make that choice for ourselves.  We must remember that this was the last speech Joshua ever gave to the people of Israel – not long after this, he died (Josh 24:28-29).  This was Joshua’s last chance to penetrate the hearts and minds of the generation that was to follow, and he didn’t waste it.  Joshua desperately wanted the Israelites to serve God with all sincerity and truth (Josh 24:14).  This speech is the last serious discourse of a faithful man to the children that were to follow.  The choice would soon be theirs – he wished to impress the gravity of that decision to them.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom