LIAR, LIAR (1997)

Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Written by: Paul Guay, Stephen Mazur
Studio: Universal Pictures
Starring: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper
Rated: PG-13

About the film:
Fletcher, a fast-talking and somewhat unscrupulous lawyer, discovers that he has lost the ability to lie when his long-neglected five-year-old son makes a birthday wish. Unfortunately for Fletcher, his next case has no possibility of winning unless he can bend the truth just a little.

Movie Quote:
“I wish, for just one day, Dad couldn’t tell a lie.”
Max Reede (Justin Cooper) in Liar, Liar (1997)

Bible Quote:
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”
Numbers 23:19 (NIV)

Commentary:
Max’s wish in Liar, Liar is certainly understandable. How unstable and insecure would life be if we could not trust the one into whose trust we are given? Fathers are supposed to tell us the truth. At the heart of Max’s wish is the desire to believe the person who, supposedly, most loves him. It is a desire we all share.

For us, our belief is justified because our spiritual Father is, in fact, incapable of lying. It is simply not in His divine nature. He is all truth, all light and all love. And He cannot lie. (Titus 1:2)

Because we can trust in His Word implicitly, we can have peace in our hearts and joy in our lives. We have the key to life and happiness. That key is simply called “the truth.”

Because He committed His Word to a written form which we can read, study, and apply, he has given us a foundation of unshakable truth upon which we might build our lives. It is a foundation upon which we may trust without doubt or hesitation. It shall never fail nor disappoint us. The truth shall stand for all time. And we shall prevail as we believe and act upon it.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. Why do people lie? What arguments can be made to counter their rationalizations?
2. One of Fletcher’s problems lies in his prioritizing his life. What is the proper priority we should take between the following: a) our jobs; b) our family; c) our relationship with God?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com