August 8, 2007

Persevering in Truth

Read Colossians 3:1-17 (Summer Observations Con't)

"Do not lie to each other..."

OBSERVATION 3: People lie. I realize and accept that this doesn't seem like much of an observation and, no, I (captain obvious) didn't just discover this, but over the course of the last summer through watching relationships between people both inside and outside the church I felt as though I might need to spend a little bit of time discussing the ramifications of this observation.

Trust is probably one of the most difficult gifts that we can give to another. Many of us are willing to offer forgiveness even before we are willing to grant trust. Trust is dangerous, for in the act of granting trust we are placing our vulnerable selves into the hands of another. Trust is made all the more difficult because throughout life we have come to understand our own propensity toward exaggeration, manipulation of facts, and out right untruthfulness. We have been caught so often in the web of deception that we have come to doubt that anyone else can avoid such a seductive web.

We are a people consumed with self-preservation and self-exaltation, which are the two primary motives behind telling lies. Through deception we are either attempting to protect ourselves from the consequences of wrong-doing or we are attempting to get ahead of others by our ability to manipulate and alter facts. This becomes extremely problematic in the end; because what happens is that as each of us is so radically centered on either protecting or exalting self, we become a fractured people, doubtful that anyone can break free from such cycles of deceptive living, fearing that we are constantly being told lies, unsure of how to navigate the blurry line between truth and lie, and finally left constructing protective walls-- a skeptic toward the words of others and giving of ourselves over to the fatalism of untruthfulness.

I have watched lies wound people at levels so deep that their entire lives are the acting out of that pain. I have observed people so ensnared by untruthfulness that their grasp of reality over deceit has been nearly lost. I have witnessed families utterly destroyed by the constant game of manipulation, half-truths, ommitted information, and down right malicious lying. I have counseled people that have become so utterly distrustful that they have chosen the life of isolation rather than be hurt by deceit again. I have come to recognize that the superficiality of most our relationships are bound up in our unwillingness to trust, trusting others and ourselves. These are the ramifications of observation 3...

But Paul, writing to the church Colossae says, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and put on your new self." St. Paul seems to believe that it is possible to cast aside the enduring temptation to deceive. In fact, his belief seems to be wrapped up in our experience of Christ. In the gospel of John, Jesus states, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." In Jesus, there is an engagement with something so real, so pure, and so true that we are willing to surrender our lives to follow Him. We are consistently implored throughout the New Testament scriptures to Trust Jesus...Take a look at his farewell discourse...He says to his disciples, "Trust in God, trust also in me..." Jesus is consistently calling us to risk hurt and trust in Him. His disciples came against an immediate challenge when they watched the one whom they were to trust placed upon a cross, killed, and laid behind a stone. On that Saturday, the very integrity of God was on the line. But one day later, Jesus will remain true to His word.

As Christians we are called to enter into Christ, taking off the old man and putting on the new. The new man is being restored to the image of God. The new man is being stripped of its selfishness and isolation. The new man need not be concerened in protecting himself/herself or exalting self. The new man places all of life in the hands of God, the One whose integrity has been sound throughout all of eternity. By trusting in Jesus, we are able to break from the web of deceit and become truth-tellers. As the church, we become the kind of community that can sustain both truth and trust. If there is wrongdoing, instead of manipulating others, we confess our sin before God and our brothers and sisters and trust that God through Jesus will cleanse us of all unrightousness. If there is a desire to exalt ourselves, we come to recognize its sinfulness and instead take the roll of servant, protecting the integrity of our lives.

In addition to becoming truth-tellers, we also become trust-givers. As we witness the lives of those around us being intersected with gift of God's Spirit we find ourselves willing to step out in faith and trust. This is no guarantee that we won't again be wounded...but just as Jesus suffered our betrayal, we suffer one another's betrayal as we "bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we have against each other...forgiving just as the Lord forgave us." (Col. 3:13)

OBSERVATION 3: People lie.

CLOSING WORDS: Through our experience with God's faithfulness, we become, as the church, the kind of people where truth and trust can be sustained. We live daring enough to place our protection and our future in the hands of God. In essence, we have learned to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...by the grace of God.