A PERSON IS AS ONLY AS TRUE AS THEIR WORD

By Dr. William F. Holland
We live in an age that tends to shrug its shoulders
when confronted with spreading information that
is not true. Instead of asking, like Pilate, “What is
truth?” The postmodern man says, “Truth is relevant to each individual” or perhaps “There might
be truth somewhere, but we cannot know it.” Those of us who
follow Christ realize that not being ashamed of speaking lies is
another dangerous deception that much of our progressive culture has accepted as normal. God is an absolute true reality. He
is perfect in all of His ways, He cannot lie.
Our human nature is infected with depravity and unless our
carnality is controlled we can think bad things and speak lies
without blinking an eye. Let us beware of becoming numb to sin.
In the book of James the first chapter, it speaks of how someone
might seem to be a Godly person, but if they do not bridle their
tongue, their religion is in vain. The idea here is that the mouth
reveals what is in the mind and the heart. If the words are corrupt,
this is proof that the conscience has not been renewed through
the transforming power of Christ. Integrity is embracing the truth
about ourselves, honesty always speaks the truth to everyone
else.
Our pastor recently taught on the commandment of Thou shalt
not bear false witness. Of course, anytime something is said that
is not true, it is a lie whether intentional or not. There is the old
downright and dirty lie that is meant to cause intentional harm,
but it doesn’t have to be a bald-faced lie to be a falsehood. There
is no such thing as a harmless lie? A sobering component of
being honest is that many people, even Christians tend to not
be transparent with others, themselves, or God. Have you ever
called in sick to stay home from work and were not sick? Have
you ever exaggerated anything including your taxes? When you
tell a story do you add extra details that you just made up? We
have broken all the commandments because each one deals
with issues of the soul.
Is there such a thing as a white lie? Have you ever tried to cover
your tracks with lies to prevent being exposed? Do you distort
your abilities and accomplishments to appear more successful
than you are? Have you ever spread rumors and speculations
about other people to tear down their integrity? I believe that most
of us at some time or another have told things that are not true for
some reason, but one thing is sure, no amount of lies can change
the truth. God knows. Then we have the case of not speaking
the truth when we have the opportunity. This is called a sin of
omission. Shouldn’t a Christian desire to be honest and the first
one to declare truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
so help us God?
The thought for today is not only about us telling the truth, it’s
also about us believing the truth. If we desire to speak the truth,
we must know what it is. Do we love the truth? Is understanding
truth important to us? Sadly we’ve grown accustomed to being
lied to, and many have become comfortable with the false notion that it’s a normal response to be dishonest. We witness the
biased attitude of some media outlets as they report a news
event. It’s not the truth that’s important to many people, it’s how
information can be twisted to support a certain agenda.
How often do we ask God to reveal His truth to us? What about
seeking God to let us see ourselves the way He sees us? Can
we “handle” the truth? Have you considered that some people
love their deception so much that it’s now a part of who they
are? It’s interesting how we are ready to drink any lie that flatters
us but reluctantly sip at truth that makes us feel ashamed. Even
though Jesus in John 8:32 said that within the word of God, we
can know the truth and it will set us free, it’s evident that many
people are more comfortable and secure living within the fantasies of their illusions. All truths are easy to understand once they
are discovered and accepted, but who will remove their mask
and deal with the dishonesty and deception within themselves.
Visit billyhollandministries.com to read more about the victorious
Christian life.
To learn more about the Christian life visit billyhollandministries.com.
Dr. Holland lives in Central Kentucky with his wife Cheryl, where
he is a Christian minister, author, and community chaplain. To
learn more about Jesus and the Christian life visit: billyhollandministries.com. Read more about the Christian life and order your books
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