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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

What Is Wrong with the Truth?

I watched a two episodes of one tv program last night. Both episodes had a conflict that involved someone failing to tell the whole truth. There were misleading things said which led others to believe a lie. Let me make this clear: Knowingly leading a person to believe a lie is the same as telling a lie. Anyone who says, "Technically, I was telling the truth, " is probably telling a lie.

In each instance things got worse because the truth was not told. In fact, they were much worse. The truth would have been difficult but it would have been like cleaning up a mess. The mess is in the open. It looks bad but you really can't clean up a mess that is being hidden.

The Bible has a lot to say about the truth and lies. Jesus said that the devil was the father of lies. He said that He was the truth. He said that by abiding in His word, we would know the truth. He said the truth was make us free.

Lies hold us hostage. They keep us from knowing things as they are. We cannot go the right direction when led to turn the wrong way. We cannot lead others in the right way when we are going the wrong way. We can't get where we want to go by going the wrong way.

But lies appeal to people  who do not want things revealed. Lies capture people from even the highest stations in life. President Nixon would never have had to resign if not for the lies he told. President Clinton would not have been disbarred if not for the lie he told. Sure, these men were trying to cover up other sins they committed but it was their lies that tarnished their legacies.

Think of King David. He did the wrong thing with Bathsheba. He should never have asked who she was in the first place. He should have asked if she was married. He should never have invited her over. He knew what he wanted to do. He lied to himself if he wasn't aware of  his motive. He just didn't expect the consequence of a child being born. He thought he could act as if it didn't happen. So, he sought to cover it all up. He sought to place the paternity upon her husband. This was a misleading lie. After a couple of attempts he had her husband killed and took her into his own home. He was going to appear to be her savior until Nathan, the prophet, arrived and revealed all.

Then, David did what he should have done with his sin. He was honest and confessed it before the Lord. Confession is being truthful about sin. It is not merely revealing what was done. It is full disclosure to the Lord with grief and commitment that it will not happen again. It seeks restoration of the relationship between God and sinner. It is the truth.

The truth is hard for the moment. A lie makes things worse and is hard for as long as the lie persists. While the truth may reveal our sins, weaknesses or even mistakes, a lie buries those faults so that we cannot recover.

What is wrong with the truth? I suppose it reveals who we really are and what we have really done. Maybe we are afraid to either face who we are or let others know what we have done. But the truth really does set you free.

Yes, I know that when Christ made that statement about being set free He was talking about people coming to Him. You cannot come to Him by believing lies or living in lies though. You shed these lies to come to Christ. You believe the truth. You accept the truth.

John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:42-44
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, of there is o truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The truth is hard for the moment. A lie makes things worse and is hard for as long as the lie persists. While the truth may reveal our sins, weaknesses or even mistakes, a lie buries those faults so that we cannot recover. I like this text, from the article. When there is a lie or untruth, the truth exposes; makes us naked, so to speak, and it can make us uncomfortable when the truth is revealed.

I know Scripture has in it recorded as “The truth shall set you free”, yet the way to read it is that the truth shall set you free if you embrace it. Some even go to the extent of saying it is truth put into practice that set you free. I think you get the idea. The truth exposes. The lie or untruth is unearthed, so to speak, so that you and I, are free to deal with it. If you or I still do NOT embrace the truth, do NOT accept it, do NOT deal with the lie or untruth, the truth has NOT set you or I, free.

For example, let’s say I discern (I actually could, at times) that you are demonized, and I tell you that, and that is the truth, but if you do NOT embrace it, do NOT accept it, and do NOT want to deal with the revelation of that (there is demonization), that truth does NOT set you free. This is an example of what I sometimes say as the scenario of “when the sick does NOT think he is sick, he is NOT going to see the doctor, and such is difficult to be helped”. Whether it is a lie or a demon or demonization, the point is that if you are NOT embracing the truth, you are just going to let the matter be, meaning the lie stays a lie, and you may even continue to lie that way, or in the case of demonization, it continues to impact you. In other words, what is exposed, you reburied it when you do NOT embrace the truth. What is buried is like the yeast Jesus talked about in Scripture, it continues to make thing worse, and no recovery or restoration is possible. So, really, the next time, you think about “the truth shall set you free”, remember, as a minimum, you have to embrace it, in order that it shall set you free.

The Holy Spirit reminds me of an analogy and so, here it is, I will give it: I know of a sister who deals with bad stains and odour in the house this way: If it is dirty or stained, cover it with lining paper; and so, all the shelves, open ones or those inside the cabinets, she would cover them with lining paper. Now, I am NOT objecting to it, if the surface is clean or cleaned, before you line the paper, but this was NOT what she did – she just covered over the dirty surfaces; as if see no evil means there is no evil, so to speak. And for bad odour, she would use nice odour to cover the bad odour, and so, she would put good smelling items (treated with all sorts of “perfume”), and even natural nice smelling leaves, etc, at the places where there was bad odour (Guess where! Yes, inside the cabinets, too). Now, where does the bad odour come from? They came from dirty things, like the dirt and stains, like the oil stains from cooking, etc; and the droppings and carcasses of rats, lizards, and pests. Her approach was to cover over. The dirty things that had to be removed were NOT removed, but were covered over; they were not visible, but they were still there, and they resulted in the bad odour. And then, she would address the odour similarly – cover over. She added some more odour to the air, without removing the bad odour or the filth that has caused the odour.

Cont...

Anonymous said...

COnt. from above

What do you think happened over time? The place got dirtier and dirtier especially she does NOT even remove the old paper linings, but just add layers upon layers. For the odour, the same, she added more or sprayed more “perfumed” sprays. Things just got worse and more unbearable as time went by; you could get sick living in such a place. This place that this sister stayed has since become my place, and that was how I have come to know of this! You see, she did NOT embrace or deal with the truth, that the surfaces were dirty or stained with oil from cooking, etc. The truth was staring at her, but she chose NOT to clean up, but to just pretend it (the filth) was NOT there! The filthiness went unaddressed, led to another problem, the odour, and that too, instead of being addressed by removing the filth, and cleaning up the odour by using some kind absorbent like charcoal, she left the bad odour there, and just covered over, with good smelling odour. What does this look to you? Sin upon sin, or sin compounded with some more sins, and NOT addressed; and that is what many people do!

Actually, often times, the truth does stare at us; it is we who deceive ourselves and tell ourselves, “Oh it is NOT serious, just numb our conscience, and we can live with it.” The more you numb your conscience, the less the Holy Spirit is able to get through to you, because NOT knowing to you, you are increasingly NOT listening to Him. Without the sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, you are vulnerable. You are vulnerable to fall and fall (sin and sin), and your condition is going to get worse.

Now, that place has become my place; and so, what did I do? I had to take the bull by the horn, so to speak. Uncomfortable, I had to go to work, removed all the coverings, un-earthed all the filth, cleaned up all the surfaces. Of course, there are some surfaces, there are still the reminders/marks of what had been there, but even those they were cleaned. For the odour, that too, had to be addressed, charcoal was placed to absorb the odour off the place. Some hard and uncomfortable job, I must say; but it must be done.

Now, it is the same with this house, our body, which the Holy Spirit indwells us. We have to clean up, and keep it clean for the Spirit of God; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God can help to restore the condition of the place/house/your body, if you allow Him, and work with Him, by doing the right things. Yes, you cannot bury and re-bury all the sins in your life. You need to unearth them all, and have God remove them off you. I know the article of Ps Prentis centered on lies, but lies and sins are like lies and Satan, they are invariably connected, not separable! What is a sin? It is what God considers NOT ok, we have embraced it as ok – we have embraced a lie! Does it NOT sound familiar, “One lie leads to another” and “One sin leads to another”? So, today, deal with it, a lie or a sin, before it leads you to be more and more vulnerable. All believers are needed to address the sins they commit from time to time; 1 John 1:9 is meant for believers, too. Those who teach that all a believer needs to do, when he sins, is to just tell the Devil off by saying that he (the believer himself) is (still) righteous, and need NOT ask God for forgiveness, are NOT speaking the truth.

1 john 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.


Anthony Chia, high.expressions

Anonymous said...

They say, "Become Jews and Christians, and you will be guided." Say, "But the religion of Abraham is rightly oriented; he was not a polytheist." Say, "We believe in God, and what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses and Jesus, and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We do not make an distinction between any of them; we submit to God." So if they believe as you believe, they have already been guided; but if they turn away, then it is they alone who are being separatist. So God will suffice you against them; and God is all- hearing all-knowing. Here is baptism from God; and who is better at baptism than God? And we are devotees of God. Say, "Do you dispute with us about God, even though God is our Lord and your Lord too, and we are responsible for our acts while you are responsible for our acts, and we are sincere to God? "Or do you say that Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, Jacob, and the Tribes were Jews or Christians?" Say, "Do you know better, or does God?" And who is more wrong than those who conceal the testimony they have from God? God is not heedless of what you do! That was a people that has passed away; they will get what they earned, and you will get what you earned. And you will not be questioned about what they used to do [Quran 2:135-141].

Anonymous said...

As for those who scoff and hinder others from the way of God, they have wandered far astray. Those who scoff and do wrong God is not committed to forgive or guide in any way, except the path of hell, to remain there forever. And that is easy for God. People, the messenger has come to you with truth from your Lord, so believe, it is best for you. Even if you scoff, still all in the heavens and on earth belong to God; and God is knowing and wise. People of scripture, do not go to excess in your religion, and do not say anything about God but the truth. The Messiah Jesus Son of Mary was only a messenger, a word, from God, which God sent down to Mary, a spirit from God. So believe in God and God's messengers. And do not speak of a trinity; it is best for you to refrain. God is one sole divinity, too transcendent to have a son, in possession of all in the heaven and on earth. And God is a good enough patron. The Messiah is not too proud to be a servant of God, nor the the intimate angels. Any too proud to serve God, being self-aggrandizing, God will gather in, all. But those who believe and do good works God will pay their rewards in full, and give them more from the divine bounty. Now as for those who are proud and arrogant, God will torture with a painful torment, and they will not find themselves a protector or a savior apart from God. People, a proof has come to you from your Lord, for We have revealed a clear light to you. As for those who believe in God with steadfast adherence, God will admit them to mercy from the divine, and grace. And God will lead them to the divine by a straight path [Quran 4: 167-175].