Whereas a lie is capable of travelling wide and fast, it does not last forever. Sooner or later a lie will fall apart. The truth will ultimately level up with the lie and surpass it. Our text says a lying tongue is for a moment; therefore, no matter how long it may seem, those who hold on to the truth will triumph. Joseph’s brethren sold him into slavery, thinking it was good riddance to a young boy with wild ambitions. Then, they killed a goat and dipped his coat in blood, to sell a dummy to their father that an evil beast had killed him. They got by with their evil ingenuity for a number of years; but they had to face up with the truth ultimately. That was to their shock and shame.

Whereas a lie is capable of travelling wide and fast, it does not last forever. Sooner or later a lie will fall apart. The truth will ultimately level up with the lie and surpass it. Our text says a lying tongue is for a moment; therefore, no matter how long it may seem, those who hold on to the truth will triumph.

The words in our text are both a warning and an encouragement if we have been lied against, because it will be only for a moment. It is a warning because those who indulge in lying will hit their contradictions soon. As we already pointed out in the case of Joseph’s brethren, very soon the rings of lies will reach their elastic limit and they will break. On the other hand, the verse is an encouragement for those who have been lied against, that it will soon be over. I remember that the Lord brought this word into my heart in meditation as I made to pray for a brother who was wrongly accused. I assured his relative that a lying tongue will be for a moment. We held on to this word. And after what seemed like a millennium and against several odds, the accused regained his liberty. In 2 Corinthians 13:8, Paul confidently proclaimed, “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (NKJV). Indeed, no weapon fashioned against those who walk in the truth can prosper.