Live The Truth
Therefore,
laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we
are members of one another.
26
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27
and do not give the devil an opportunity.
28
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with
his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who
has need.
29
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good
for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace
to those who hear.
Ephesians
4: 24-29
In a society built upon lying, it’s easy to rationalize and reduce our responsibility for not living the truth. Lying is not just speaking the wrong, lying is also presenting a false view of ourselves. It’s all deception and it’s in all of us. We all lie and if you think that you don’t, you just did.
All of us fight a constant battle between truth and error inside our heads. We pretend to be different than we are, we lie about ourselves, our circumstances, and our spirituality. We lie by what we say, by what we don’t say, gray areas, angles, and imprecision in our speech. This lying bent is a characteristic of our old nature and incredibly hard to shake.
We lie to acquire. Sometimes we lie to get something we want--money on tax returns, a job, a promotion, a relationship. We fear if we tell the truth, we’ll go without.
We lie to enhance. I want people to think I’m smarter or better than I am. Nobody would love me if they knew what I was really like.
We lie to protect ourselves or to avoid something that we don’t want to happen. I don’t want to pay that fine . . . or lose that chance, or deal with that problem.
The follower of Christ is called to higher living--an authentic, truthful, trustworthy standard.
There is no clearer way to say it: stop lying and live the truth. Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”
Aren’t you glad to know that true spirituality isn’t like duct tape? I’ll just stop talking--if my lips are sealed then I won’t lie. But God doesn’t want us to stop speaking or relating, instead, He wants truth to come out of our hearts and mouths. He wants us to be open and transparent, building healthy relationships and living out the Word of God. Truth is the very best thing we have and as Jesus said, it’s what sets you free. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John 8:32 So let each of us speak the truth to our neighbors and God’s truth to everyone we meet along life’s journey.
This is an intricate part of the spiritual maturing process every Christian must foster in his or her life. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,..” Eph. 4: 15
