Get Real with Yourself
The Day America Told the Truth came out in 1991. In this work, research showed 91 percent of Americans lie routinely, while 36 percent confess to dark, important lies. Eighty-six percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent lie to friends, 73 percent to siblings, 69 percent to spouses, 81 percent lie about feelings, 43 percent concerning income, and 40 percent about sex. Psychologist Michael Lewis of Rutgers University says there are three types of lies: (1) Lies to protect feelings, such as saying a gift is nice when you actually hate it; (2) Lies to avoid punishment; and (3) Lies of self-deception. Our behavior repulses others, but we lie to ourselves and blame the rejection on something or someone else. A woman gives herself a breast exam and notices an unusual lump but tells herself everything is fine. A guy knows that he has an issue with lust but keeps his hidden secret to himself for so long that he actually has decieved himself to think everything is alright. Lewis feels these lies of self-deception may be the most frequent lies. That could explain why so many people reject the gospel. They’ve lied to themselves about their need for forgiveness and God’s requirement of commitment to Christ. In this age of obsessive lying, remember who is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), and who promised to give the “truth that shall make you free” (John 8:32). C. S. Lewis noted, “We often err either by ascribing too much or too little power to the father of lies.”
Honesty is, and will always be the best policy. Half truth is no truth at all. What this world needs is to get back to facing the facts and telling the truth so that we all might free from the delusions and secrets that bind us.
On a more humorous note, here is a funny story regarding honesty. It may not spell out the real message of today’s blog, but it sure gets you thinking!
A young boy asked his dad, “What does ‘ethics’ mean?” The father was a rather prosperous businessman and valued his son’s question, so he gave it considerable thought. After contemplation he said, “Well, you know your uncle Billy and I are in business together. Suppose a customer comes in and buys something worth $10 but mistakenly gives me a $20 bill and leaves without his change. It’s ethics if I split the extra $10 with Uncle Billy.”
