In 1921, James McKenzie invented the polygraph machine, otherwise known as a lie detector. This machine measures blood pressure, heart rate, movement, and perspiration to determine if someone is telling the truth or a lie. For the last 100 years, government and law enforcement agencies have been using polygraphs as an integral piece of interrogations and trials, but recently, this technology has made its way into the hands of the public.
While these tests were once thought to be foolproof, more recent research suggests that these tests are often inaccurate.
Play this clip [4:21; stop at 2:53]:
Can You Beat a Polygraph Test?
- After watching this, how many of you would be willing to take the same kind of test the next time someone asks if you’re telling the truth? If you didn’t answer yes, why not? (While your students are under no obligation to answer this question, allow any willing participants to share their rationale.)
- Why do we keep secrets? (There are things we’ve done, said, or thought that we don’t want others to discover.)
- Think about your biggest secret. How would it feel if this secret were to be revealed to those you were closest to? (For most of us, this would be a mortifying experience that we feel could potentially negatively affect the relationships.)
There’s Someone who already knows all of our deepest—and darkest—secrets. Although we may be able to beat a lie detector test, we can’t keep anything a secret from God. Sometimes, this can feel really scary; after all, we’ve all done things we’d rather the Creator of the universe didn’t know about. However, as we’ll learn today, we should see this truth as liberating, not frightening.
Today, we’ll learn how to change our perspective on being open with God, and discover how much stronger our relationship with Him can become when we share out of excitement, not fear. Let’s take a look.
Additional Resources:
The curious story of how the lie detector came to be.