zaterdag 5 december 2015

Walking in truth

When the Bible tells us that Christ is the way the truth and the life and that we ourselves should walk in truth it tells us that the only way to true deep happiness and fulfillment in God is by living authentic lives (3 John 1-8).

Living in truth, sincerity and godly integrity is extremely valuable and precious in Gods eyes and pleasing to Him. It is evidence of Christ-likeness and love for God. Those who love themselves in an unhealthy manner hate truth for truth topples human pride. Those who love God love truth. He is a "God of truth" as Moses wrote in Deuteronomy. Christ said, "I am the truth." Those who "walk in truth" seek to obey God’s Word without question and imitate the pattern of Christ’s life. Jesus Christ obediently served His Father even when it was hard to do so. There are no obstacles between God and those who live authentically and truthful. Just as Christ’s relationship with his Father there is an unbroken path of fellowship. Those "walking in truth" have no barriers between them and their neighbor. Truthful Christians are not vulnerable to criticism or crisis; they have Christ’s loving and graceful perspective of everything they encounter.

However, by nature all of us lie. The so-called people of the lie, people who live inauthentic lives are normal people like you and me. All of us are capable of lying in order to protect our reputation, preserve our fragile self-image or to achieve our goals. Lies come in many forms but the most common lies are direct falsehoods, half-truths and lies of omission. Some lies are direct and blatant falsehoods. They are a deliberate misrepresentation of the truth. It may consist of saying something false or of giving people a false impression that we know is not true. Half-truths are partially true but mixed in with false information. A half-truth can also be truth misrepresented in such a way that the other does discover the full truth. Really half-truths are still full lies for the goal is to deceive the other. Doing so takes away that persons autonomy and free choice as we have deceived them. It is a sign of utter disrespect and lack of love. Lies of omission are just as deceptive. Lies of omission consist of deliberately hiding information from the other in order for them not to discover the full truth about something. Again we are making decisions for them instead of respecting their right to make their own choices based on the truth. All lies are ultimately self-serving rather than God-serving. They are controlling, degrading and demeaning, manipulative and are disrespectful. They are a clear sign of lack of love for God and others. Lies even show a lack of healthy love for self for ultimately the way of the lie will destroy us. Lies harm relationships even if the lies are never discovered by people. Not only do lies reflect a lack of respect to others, they also make us lose respect for ourselves.

In friendships and romantic relationships lies are detrimental. A close, safe and lasting romantic relationship is built on openness, intimacy and trust. Lies in any form undermine and eventually kill intimacy and love. Lies also drag us down with guilt and shame and cause anxiety as we fear being exposed.

The Bible reminds us that Satan is the father of lies and unless we fully repent and come clean we cannot escape his evil. If you are trapped in a web of lies remember you are hurting yourself and others and eventually end up all alone, separated from your (former) loved ones and from God. You may end up evil and bitter inside and blaming everyone, feeling you are a victim. Or you harden your heart and hide behind an air of self-righteousness or religiosity. But the truth remains, you live a lie. But you always had a chance to repent from the destructive way of the lie even if up to now you decided not to do so. Today on behalf of God I implore you to repent before it is too late. Decide not to go the way of those who are evil for the evil have no regard for the truth; they lie and live in a world of lies. They are masters of disguise and cloak themselves with masks of respectability, goodness and often piety but their hearts are not filled with love but with an insatiable desire to make other serve their demands. They use lies, deceit or force to impose their will upon others by overt or covert coercion. Do not go this way. Repent and remember that you can fool people but you can never deceive God. Unless you repent fully, you will end up suffering the same fate of the arch-liar. Repent before you reach the point of no return.