LIES!

So, I have a bit of a rant coming up here….just so you’re forewarned. Also, here’s a cool picture of Doctor House to emphasize my upcoming points:

So, over the past few months I have been on a journey to rid myself of dishonesty. Let me stress that this is a JOURNEY…one that I will most likely be on until the day I breathe my last breath.

It all started one day when I was at church and I mentally caught myself lying in a conversation….and the craziest part was that I was lying about something that WASN’T EVEN IMPORTANT! It was something I totally didn’t need to lie about! I feel like I recall it being a dumb conversation about some movie, and the person asked me if I had seen a certain movie…sure, I was familiar with the movie, but I hadn’t ever seen it…and I, without hesitation, said, “Yeah, totally.”

Guess what everyone…I’M A LIAR, OKAY? THERE, I SAID IT.

But guess what? So are you.

I read somewhere recently that the average person tells something like 1.65 lies in a day (apparently the second lie was really only, like…a half a lie), which, if you have even an ounce of honesty in you, you know is a lie in itself.

I claim no excellence or perfection in the area of honesty. Unfortunately, I never will…not perfection, at least. However, I have grown more and more conscious of the frequency of my dishonesty, and I think I’m developing a healthy sense of conviction. DEVELOPING.

However, this does lead me to a level of frustration…especially when I feel like lying has become such an overlooked practice in myself and my peers. Heck, maybe it’s my generation as a whole. A BIG thing I see is people complaining about “dishonesty”, or about people being “fake”, or people “lying”, or “hypocrisy”.

But the thing is…like….we ALL DO THAT.

 

LITTLE LIES

I find the mentality is that little lies don’t matter. But isn’t a lie still a lie, no matter how small that lie is? It’s probably easier sometimes to just TELL THE TRUTH.

I think a big reason people need to tell the truth is because we’re called to transparency as Christian brothers and sisters. I mean, seriously….we’re all really messed up people, and because of that, we feel like we need to hide all of our crap with dishonesty and fronts. Yet, if we were all honest and transparent, we would realize that we are all very screwed up and we would be able to heal with each other and accept each other.

The Bible has a few things to say about dishonesty:

Ephesians 4:25 — Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.

Proverbs 12:22 — Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

Proverbs 4:24-26 — Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

Proverbs 12:19 — The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Psalm 101:7 — He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

Proverbs 6: 16-19 – There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:
 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
 a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.

Matthew 15: 19 – For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

John 8: 44 –You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Topical preaching at its finest, eh? Sorry for all y’all out there who are bothered by that. I’m not trying to preach, per se. I’m just trying to prove that it’s pretty blatantly biblical that dishonesty and deception disappoint God, but truth and honesty leads to life.

 

THE FLIP SIDE

The other side of this whole thing is that there needs to be a willingness to accept honesty. There are SO many people that talk about their desire for honesty and for people to be straight-up, but honesty is often tough to accept. Lies and dishonesty are often what we know people WANT to hear because it will make them feel better, so that’s what we give to them. So often, honest people are labelled as rude or arrogant or jealous, all of which may be true in certain situations, but the person receiving the honesty has to be open to accepting it and let their prideful defenses down. If you say you really want honesty, then you better be prepared to receive it with an open heart.

 

BE REDEEMING

All this being said, I do need to clarify that I believe that when delivering honesty, one should hold 4 requirements in mind:

1) Honesty that is redeeming. Comments that simply end with no hope (aka, “That plain sucked”) are just not necessary.

2) Honesty that enables. Be honest, but pick out the good things as well.

3) Honesty that encourages. Give constructive criticism and encouraging comments to further inspire the person you’re being honest with.

4) Honesty is best done in relationship. Seriously, there’s nothing worse than when someone you don’t know well or you know doesn’t care about you or love you is being brutally honest. But amongst friends, brothers, and sisters, that is where the honesty should be.

 

So, come on. Let’s start being honest with each other. As brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive for justice and truth in all our affairs. Let us honour each other in our honesty through our love.

I firmly believe we can find the depths of love and community that God desires us to have if we learn to love honesty and fight dishonesty. A lie is a lie, no matter how small. Honesty may be more difficult and it may lead to suffering, but suffering leads to refinement and strength. This is our call as Christians.

TySharron

Ps, I wrote this while being very distracted…I may have to revise and tidy it up later.

Character of Jesus

You are about to read John 14: 1-14, and it has been one of the most amazing verses for me lately. Read it in prayer and understanding, and see how it opens up to you!

Jesus, the Way to the Father

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.^[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?^[b]3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”⁵ “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.^[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

⁹ Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. ¹¹ Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

¹² “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. ¹³ You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

….more to come on this soon, but for now just enjoy this AMAZING section of holy scripture.

I took a love-plunge into Your heart…

Yeah, I just quoted a DC Talk song….no big deal or anything.

Anyways, a beautiful Sunday morning to you all! I like Sundays here in Boston. They truly do feel like a Sabbath because I normally go to church (normally not until 11!), eat and fellowship with friends, and then just relax; it truly is a holy day 😉

Moving on, this week I have finally come to realize the importance of consistency with Christ. I feel that it is hard for Christ to consistently use us when we do not consistently communicate with Him. Not to say He won’t use you at all if you are not consistent, but my heart feels that not only will He use us more when we are consistent with Him, but we will see opportunities that He is guiding us towards more easily, and as a result, we will see His plan more and more for our lives! It’s  actually really exciting, and if you haven’t realized it yet, you probably should!

This week, I am delving into Hebrews! I was told by my brother Colin (the leader of Berklee Christian Fellowship) that Hebrews is a great book to start with for new Christians who are just getting into the Bible. Sure, I’m not a new Christian, but with my lack of personal Bible experience, I might as well be. So, I present to you some AWESOME scripture from Hebrew!

“(Hebrews 2: 9) But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

(Hebrews 2: 14-18) Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of the flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham (a.k.a. humanity). Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

BAM! If any of y’all haven’t read “Death by Love” by Mark Driscoll and some other guy, you really should. These passages of scripture kind of highlight the main premise of the book. Christ Jesus was made human, lower than angels, so that He might taste death for who? For EVERYONE! Yet through that death, He destroyed the power of the devil, and released those who were subject to bondage and fear their whole lives!

How freaking amazing is that???

He had to be made like us so that He could share in our suffering, and undergo our temptation so that He could help us. He was made the “propitiation” for our sins! Now, what does that big, intimidating word mean?

Propitiation is, essentially, vicarious atonement. Jesus Christ was made as a sacrifice offered to God in the place of all the punishment that WE should have endured. He did NOT deserve that punishment, make no mistake! There had to be blood to pay for all the wrong things we have done, and Jesus became that sacrifice in our place. Instead of us, it was Him! Even though He was perfect!! Say what??

And because of this beautiful fact, we can do as it says in Hebrews 4: 16:

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

My God is pretty unbelievable, and so is the primary way in which He speaks to us: The BIBLE. Heck, it’s “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4: 12-13)

You can only hide from Him for so long, people. He’ll find ya’….His word will find ya’ 😉