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Follow on Google News | O, What a Tangled Web we Weave; When First we Practice to Deceive!Lies don’t Fix Things. They don’t even make Things Easier, at least not in the Long Run. Best to tell the Truth and then Clean up an Honest Mess
The Truth About A Lie_PRLog Every person on the planet at times is an Oscar-winning liar. Haven’t we all lied without being caught? We are individuals living in a world of competition and strict social norms, where we are able to use lies and deception to enhance our chances of survival and reproduction. Stereotypically speaking, men like to exaggerate about their sexual expertise but shy away from topics that degrade them while women understate their sexual expertise to make themselves more respectable and loyal in the eyes of men and avoid being labeled as a ‘scarlet woman’. Young children learn from experience that stating an untruth can avoid punishment for misdeeds, before they develop the theory of mind necessary to understand why it works. In this stage of development, children will sometimes tell outrageous and unbelievable lies, because they lack the conceptual framework to judge whether a statement is believable, or even to understand the concept of believability. Rahab was commended not for her lying but for her faith (Heb. 11:31). Her good deed was that of welcoming the spies in peace. By faith she risked her life, trusting that the spies would later save her and her family, even though she was a harlot. Rahab feared the Lord. She trusted the living God more than she feared Jericho’s king. But she did not trust God to the point of watching how he would save her if she replied to the king in truth. Something similar can be said of Corrie ten Boom, who saved a number of lives by hiding Jewish people from the Gestapo. Indeed, she was remarkably heroic. But when she lied, she wasn’t imitating God. Ten Boom’s situation—like many other situations—was so tangled up in sin that it seems like her best option was to lie. What ten Boom’s case shows is not that lying is honoring to God, but rather that human circumstances can degenerate into something so depraved that lies get mixed in with acts of faith. To some, the stark conclusion that all forms of lying violate God’s holiness will sound unreasonable or extreme—too black and white—and dismissive of the intellectual difficulty of the matter. I see the main problem as spiritual. I think we find it hard to confess the evil of lying because we fail to embrace the full goodness of the Truth. Part of the debate extends to whether we can even know the truth. Yes, God alone knows with 100 percent accuracy exactly what the full truth is. But given that we’re created in God’s image, we are endowed with the ability to know. Even as fallen human beings, we can know what truth is. There is wisdom in the adage, “Everybody knows what truth is because everybody knows how to lie.” As Langston states, “Whenever we are freed from the weight of a seemingly insurmountable bondage, your whole world is filled with peace like never before. You now feel great about yourself and your life. Your thinking, attitude, and choices are not constrained by thoughts of ‘what you did,’ and ‘with whom and where,’ but for the first time in a long time, you have a positive outlook on life.” The truth shouldn’t be told only when it’s convenient. Honesty must be a way of life. Honesty means that you care deeply about trust, cherish your relationships, and value the importance of a solid reputation. Honesty means that you try to do your best and are willing to accept the consequences of your actions. Honesty means that you respect others enough to tell them the truth and that you value your opinion of yourself enough to never live a lie. As the saying goes, “It’s simple. Never lie to someone who trusts you, and never trust someone who lies to you.” That’s why it’s critical to always tell the truth — or the truth will tell on you. Honest. James Langston is available for interviews, media appearances, book signings, and speaking engagements. For additional information go to pomitaly.homeasted.com (http://www.pomitaly.homestead.com/ Click Here for a short Review of ”The Truth About A Lie.” http://www.scribd.com/ Langston is a licensed and ordained minister, author, seminar leader, and keynote speaker. Over the past eighteen years he has helped hundreds to heal from severe crisis, trauma, and loss and has been a consistent catalyst to pointing hurting hearts and life’s to a deeper, honest and fulfilling relationship with Jesus Christ Hefaithfully served his country for 27 years in the U.S. Navy before retiring in April of 2003. He is a husband, a father, a grandfather and senior pastor of the Pilgrim Outreach Ministries. Langston is a 1976 graduate of El Campo high school in El Campo, Texas. He and his wife Cecilia have been married for more than 37 years and have six children and fourteen grandchildren. They live overseas in Italy. Duty Stations: USS Dubuque (LPD-8) Naval TelecommunicationsCenter (NTCC) Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines USS Fletcher (DD-992) Recruit Training Command, San Diego, California Naval Telecommunications Area Master Station (NCTAMS), European Central, Naples, Italy Service School Command Radioman ”A” Communications School, San Diego, California End
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