Reminders: "The Truth Will Set You Free"
by Ardith Hoff
A pastor asked his congregation to read Mark, chapter 17 in preparation for the next week’s sermon. The following Sunday he asked for a show of hands of those who had read the passage. Several in attendance raised their hands. Then, the pastor proceeded to give his sermon on honesty. What the pastor knew that some people in the congregation did not know is that there are only 16 chapters in the book of Mark.
We sometimes think that a “little white lie” is no big deal. It might even seem like the right thing to do. When asked, “Does this outfit make me look fat?” it seems like an act of kindness to “fib” a little. What to do? The answer is always, “honesty!” If a person asks a loaded question, you might answer with a question. “Do you really want an honest answer?” If the person answers, “Yes!” then they have no complaint coming if the answer is less than welcome. We should answer such questions as kindly as possible, but difficult as it is, there is never a right reason to lie.
In the movie “Liar Liar” the main character, played by Jim Carey, had trouble not lying for just 24 hours, even though he promised his young son that he would only tell the truth. Even those of us who consider ourselves, “pretty honest”, might be surprised to find out how hard it is to tell the truth all of the time. We even lie to ourselves when we pretend that things are just fine when they actually are not. Denial is a falsehood. Even false modesty is “false”. When we deceive with our actions, it is just as dishonest as if we tell a lie verbally. Matthew 7:15 tells us that we will be “known by our fruits” (by what we do and say).
If we want to live a life of honesty and integrity in which others know that they can trust our actions and our words, we must follow the teachings in Ephesians 4:25: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” The truth really does set us free––free to be trusted and believed.