Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. — Ephesians 4:25
Why do we lie? Most of the time it is because we are afraid to tell the truth. Sometimes there are other reasons — reasons that the gospel can cure, but I want to focus on this one.
When I think of lying, there is one instance in my life that comes immediately to mind. I felt trapped. Everyone in the room was looking at me. I was afraid to tell the truth. So I lied. It was cowardice, plain and simple. I was afraid of offending. I was afraid of confronting. I dived for cover underneath a lie. Afterwards I felt so very low — I cannot describe to you the shame I felt. I suspect that lie messed up my life for the years and cost me thousands of dollars, maybe more.
So where does courage come from? Courage comes from knowing who we really are. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We are, in Him, indestructible. We are connected to the One who can manage all the consequences. If speaking the truth in love offends someone, then Jesus has the power to deal with the one offended. Of course, we are kind, gentle, tenderhearted and never unnecessarily abrasive. But we don’t need to scurry over to shore up someone else’s ego, simply because they don’t want to hear the truth. Jesus can take care of their ego.
And once we know who we really are, we can tell the truth about ourselves. We don’t need to invent stories to cover our mistakes and sins. None of us likes to sin or make mistakes, but, when we do, we acknowledge the anomaly and move on.
Being able to tell the truth is a wonderful freedom that flows from who we really are.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.