Tell The Truth – Especially To Yourself!

Word-of-the-Day: ‘(9) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices (10) and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.’ (Colossians 3:9-10)

There are two ways we can lie, or provide a false narrative.  The first is the lie of concealment (or omission), and the second is the lie of falsification (or commission).  A lie of omission is not speaking up with the truth when the truth is needed, while a lie of commission is speaking a lie when the truth is needed. 

An example of omission is when your spouse says, ‘this shirt looks good on me’, but truthfully the shirt shows all the flaws, or is too tight, too loose, or is just too gaudy for anyone to wear.  But, in an attempt to avoid an argument (or to have a good laugh at your spouse’s expense later that day) you say nothing about it and allow your spouse to go out into the public square.  The lie of commission comes when a friend sees the spouse in the gaudy shirt and thinks ‘that shirt is just too gaudy’, but when asked, says, ‘oh, that shirt looks wonderful on you’ before leaving the scene to laugh out loud.

The worst lies are what we tell ourselves, to convince ourselves we’re right even in the midst of the proof that we’re wrong.  We tell ourselves we can handle situations or there’s nothing wrong with us (our health, our behavior, our actions),  when we know we are over our heads or we know we are having problems but are too prideful or busy to take care of ourselves.

What the Lord wants us to do is to be Truthful, to ourselves and others.  We are often out of our elements and try to do too much, or are worn out and tired, and we need to admit we need to stop and rest.  It is also important to tell others, out of our love and respect for them, that they are wrong – that the shirt is too gaudy or too tight or too loose and to wear something different and more appropriate.

It is especially important to be Truthful to those who we are witnessing to, to be Truthful that Faith in the Lord is not a way to get rich quick or to gain immediate happiness. What the Lord does provide is contentment that the future, one’s eternal future is secure, that one is not alone but has Jesus walking with them.  Be Truthful to yourself and be Truthful to others!