September 23, 2012 – Dave Welborn – “Be Truth” – Click to download
If you had a choice to pick truth, or deception. I would say, with much certainty that we would all pick truth. Because if we knew we were going to be deceived, that doesn’t make any sense to believe something or someone that we knew was going to lie to us. Whether that was an intentional broken promise to help us or take money in return for a service never rendered. Why would we even continue if we knew were going to be deceived.
Theres’ a catch… Deception is… Deceiving.
Most often you don’t know you’re being swindled, stood up, or mislead.
I would say at some point in our lives everyone has experienced deception, in one form or another. Whether we were straight lied to, or we told a lie to someone else.
Someone may have used us and lie about their intentions or used our name or our business and misled others to steal from them.
Then there is when we were children trying to get out of the homework assignment, or later as an adult to trying to cover up to our boss why were late to work.
Lying and deception occur quite often and most often without us even realizing it.
However just because this world is so saturated in lies, does that mean we have to be part of it?
Today we live in a world surrounded by information. Internet alone contains so much information. There is Social Media, which includes Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and so on. As well as there are all the major news websites. Then there are magazines, and newspapers. Its hard to get away from the mainstream sources as TV & Radio. It quite overwhelming to hear so many reports.
One question that comes up is:
How to we decipher truth from lies, facts from fiction, honesty from deception.
One way to answer that is… What I’ll call is the defensive approach to seeking truth.
Correcting and pointing out the lies and deceptive actions around us.
There are a lot of areas to cover.
– News – Online, Print, TV/Radio
– Gov’t – Regulations, Election, policies, taxes
– Companies – Harassment, unfair practices, wage issues
– Relationships – Cheating, hiding money,
– Religions – Leading maliciously, stealing from members
There are times that confrontation needs to happen. Thats why I call this the defense method, because the one that is deceiving made the offense, as a defender of truth you are simply calling out the issue.
However if all you do is play defense, you will lose. Because, one can spend a lifetime trying to uncover all the lies and deception in the world and still then there would be so much more work to do.
When you’re trying to catch someone who is being deceptive you have to be careful of your motive. What is your intention? Why are you trying to uncover the deception? Are you trying to point out the wrong in others. To show how much they messed up. To “humble” the deciever?. To show how much you are “right”. Is this an intention to make yourself look better? Watch out because Pride may just be true motive. Essentially you are being selfish in this act. As a follower and disciple of Christ, seeking the recognition for pointing out the deception is in of itself a deception to the nature of what Christ instructed.
James 3:16 NKJV – For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
With this motive, it can be easy to get sidetracked with pointing out all the issues in other. That would bring us to the ever popular verse about pointing out the speck in your neighbors eye and you’ve been blinded from the plank or large piece in your eye. Meaning you have been focused on bringing someone down that you’ve lost the initiative.
If you must point out an issue. Do it with the love of Christ. What’s that?
Galatians 6:1-4 (Amplified Bible)
1 Brethren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
2 Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].
3 For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.
4 But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. He can then have the personal satisfaction and joy of doing something commendable [in itself alone] without [resorting to] boastful comparison with his neighbor.
Key part of this scripture is ”…without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness,”
Be humble yourself. Be gentle if you must point out another’s sin.
As well with the defense, you have to be on guard.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col 2:8).
Be aware, be smart. This
Verse 4 of Galatians 6 talks about carefully examining yourself and to test your own work.
This brings me to the Offensive approach.
Its the focus on being righteous and humble.
Be right. Not prideful.
Be honest.
Be truth.
I call this the offensive approach to truth seeking. Because you’re not holding your ground, you are laying the path of truth. You’re doing the right thing not only for your sake but for the sake of God.
Being honest everyday, consistently is how you make a deep impact on the world around you.
Starting at the home. The children of honest parents are blessed.
Proverbs 20:7, NKJV -” The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. “
TLB. “It is a wonderful heritage to have an honest father.”
This mindset of being truthful, doing the right thing will change the atmosphere around you, your family, your work, your community and so on.
A few years ago, when Inna and I started dating, she essentially laid out an ultimatum, “Never lie to me” The reasons were simple, she had someone who lied to her and didn’t want to be let down again. To me that was a big deal, not because I was big liar, but you don’t realize how sometimes we fib, or pass what we all call “white lies” The issue with these little lies, is that they are little seeds that can grow into major destructive issues if not uproot, or even better never planted in the first place.
I took on this challenge and I can attest, though hard, it has been rewarding in many areas of my life, especially with God, my marriage and my relationships with friends and family..
I am led to a few scriptures that encourage me when it comes to being truth:
Colossians 3:9-10 NIV Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Simple and straightforward. Don’t lie. This correlates to the original commandments of bearing false witness, aka Lying.
Just don’t do it. You’re not the same person from before you came to know Christ.
1 Peter 2:13-17 – 13 NKJV Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Proverbs 12:13-14,
NKJV – The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble. 14 A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him
MESSAGE – “13 The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it. 14 Well-spoken words bring satisfaction;well-done work has its own reward.”
If you’re in a servant role, honor and respect those in authority. No matter if you agree or not. If you are doing good, doing the right thing all time, those that are trying to find fault with people, essentially can not find fault with you. They will try but because of your dedication to serve God completely and choose to do the right thing, you will come out victoriously.
Luke 16:10 NIV – Whoever can be trusted (faithful – NJKV) with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Proverbs 22:1 NKJV – A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
These direct at leaving a legacy of character and truth. Ultimately we, individually will know who is being honest. As well as God.
Remember, deception may create detours in our lives, but truth will always be truth and will win out in the end
So BE TRUTH.
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