But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. – Jeremiah 7:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 28, 2026): Jeremiah 7

Who are the politicians who lie the most? It is an interesting question, and one to which I won't pretend I know the answer. One problem is the definition of a lie. Too often in contemporary belief, a lie is simply something that is not true. But a lie is more than just telling an untruth; part of what is essential to the nature of a lie is that you know what you are saying is untrue. Maybe we can take Ronald Reagan as an example. Ronald Reagan is often remembered for his economic beliefs. Part of his belief is what we call "Trickle-Down Economics." The idea is that if you give massive tax breaks to the rich, the effect "trickles down" throughout the rest of society. So, giving a tax break to a billionaire will help the economy more, and it will also help the average person more than giving a tax break directly to the average person. Apparently, not only does a tax break to the rich trickle down through society, but it also multiplies as it trickles, sort of like Jesus feeding the 5000 with a couple of loaves and a few fish.

So, does "Trickle-Down Economics" work? Actually, it sounds good, but it doesn't work, at least, it doesn't work for the average person. The tax break is eaten up by corporate profits and investors long before the middle class feels its effects, let alone the lower classes. And money rarely multiplies. Was Ronald Reagan lying? I don't think so. I think he really believed what he was saying. He may be guilty of being naïve enough to believe the lies of others, but that doesn't make the lie his.

In 1983, Ronald Reagan claimed that he was part of a filming crew that recorded the atrocities of the Nazi's and their death camps when he served with the US Army Signal Corps. I am not sure why President Reagan would make such a stupid comment, because it didn't take reporters long to discover that the President had never left American soil during World War II. Did President Reagan forget he hadn't been to Europe during the war, or did he believe he had? That doesn't seem likely, so Reagan's words, in this case, would be a lie.

Lying seems to be a natural part of politics. And while we may think that is the way it has always been, historians actually point to the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson as the moment when the truth seemed to suffer a catastrophic rupture. Sure, politicians used deception before LBJ, but as Robert Kennedy argued, "He [LBJ] just lies continually about everything. He lies even when he doesn't have to lie." It is important to remember that they weren't really political opponents; both Kennedy and Johnson were Democrats.

It's okay to be wrong. We are all wrong at some point; actually, if you are never wrong, it is usually because you aren't doing anything. I try to be really careful with what I say, but I know that there are times when I get it wrong. But a lie is deceiving someone about something deliberately. And that is something that none of us has to do.

However, some people want to deceive all of us. And we need to understand that reality. For Jeremiah, it was the religious elite who were preaching that everything would be okay. These people believed that Jeremiah was just an alarmist. When everything was said and done, God would defend his Temple and David's city. But Jeremiah wants his listeners to understand that their empty words are deceiving them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 8