Who can we trust??
In my home it is lying, more than anything else, that keeps my sons from having and enjoying more, not less. They can sneak by and lie a lot of the time, but not every time. But as I listen to all the misinformation about Covid, the Delta Variant, Critical Race Theory, the sins of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it’s hard to know who and when to believe because most people on the radio, TV and pages of our newspapers do lie, from time time.
I realize that I write about this a lot, but I fear that the more get more and more accustomed to the Devil’s tongue the less we recognize the Master’s. I tell my sons that I can handle almost any truth they share, but lying leads me to not knowing how to accept almost anything they say.
The first sin that man committed was disobedience (eating the fruit), but it appears that the first sin committed in the Garden of Eden, before Eve sinned, was lying. The serpent lied to Eve about what God said about eating the forbidden fruit : “You will not surely die,” the serpent told her." Genesis 3:4, NIV.
Think what a colossal waste of life, civilization, prosperity, peace and blessings mankind has endured throughout because of lying. Consider the wars, riots, uprisings, murders and injustices that humans has lived through! All because of lying. People lied about Jesus—-religious people—and had Him executed. Today modern governments are operated by people that lie on a routine basis. Heads of state, our heroes, clergy, and those that want to coach or direct us regarding what is best lie.
What would happen in our nation if we held every local assemblyman, major, judge, and all our national congressman and President himself to this standard? What if everyone in a court of law were charged with perjury each time they lied? (We would have to build a lot more jails).
Friedrich Nietzsche famously said: “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” Which leads me to two conclusions:
1. It’s best to stop believing most of the bad news, and some of the good news you hearing, unless you are pretty confident of the source. Frankly, don’t trust anyone in the media anymore unless they have a track record for always being honest.
2. We should not be surprised when we, as Christians, have an integrity issue with non-believers and they dismiss what we say, if we’ve ever found to spread, share or tell lie. Do we, as pastors, priests, elders, deacons and followers of Jesus tell the truth—-all the time? Those no place for lying, embellishment and exaggeration when we share our faith. People are starving for truth and trustworthy messengers.
Warmly,
Dean Barley
1945 Vineyard Road
Westfield, NC 27053
336 351 2070