TBH

New Sayings

Colossians 3:9 ESV

TBH To be honest

It surprises me a little but I’ve come to believe that lying is a huge problem in today’s culture.

Colossians 3:9 says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.“

On the surface, the Apostle Paul’s statement is clear cut and there are no hidden lengthy messages.

TBH, I’ve come to believe that the Apostle Paul was a total genius and his genius included his uncanny ability to cut to the heart exposing truth.

TBH was Paul’s strong suit. He did not beat around the bush.

When Paul wrote this message to the believers (new believers) he was calling them out. He was reminding them that when they accepted Jesus their lives were forever changed. They were new creatures in Jesus.

He was reminding them to go back to that place in time when they accepted Jesus and remember the Spirit of the Living God coming to reside IN them.

That means remembering what life was like without God.

For me, ‘do not lie’ takes me back to a time when I was young. I remember hearing, “do not lie because I will know it. The truth will come out.” It wasn’t said directly to me, but I got the message loud and clear.

TBH, as a child I understood why lying wasn’t acceptable. My parents said it wasn’t acceptable and I believed them.

What I didn’t know at the time (and for many years to come) is that given enough time, truth always emerges.

The problem with lying is that when the truth emerges, if you’ve lied to cover up the truth, at some point you won’t be able to cover your tracks. When the truth comes out, you’ll be in a really bad spot. If your lie covered a lot of truth, everything will be ‘murky’.

The problem with lying is that when the truth emerges, if you’ve lied to cover up the truth, at some point you won’t be able to cover your tracks. When the truth comes out, you’ll be in a really bad spot. 

See, the thing about lying is that to some people it’s addictive. They do it so much that they eventually can’t keep track of lies and truth. I kind of think that’s what gets them caught in a web. 

It’s like a spiders web. They can’t get out. 

The old saying, “what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive” holds true every time. 

I tried to think of a time when my own children lied to me and even though they weren’t perfect, I don’t remember lying being a problem at our house. I do remember telling them if they lie, I will know it. 

They all knew that God speaks to me in very unique ways. They knew I have warning dreams and visions from God. 

Even today if someone lies to me, God warns me. 

God shines a light on truth. I love that about God! I love it that God protects me by revealing truth to me. 

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 12:22, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.”

TBH truth matters because it really really matters to God. 

It matters so much that God shines a light that reveals truth. 

In college communication classes and again in Seminary counseling classes I learned what a “tell” is and what it does.

Everyone has a “tell”. Some people’s “tell” is obvious and some are hidden. Counselors are highly trained at spotting a “tell”.

Simply stated, a “tell” is a motion or a tick that people do when they lie. An obvious “tell” would be when someone looks up and pauses.

A hidden tell could be a gentle raising of one eyebrow.

I think it’s really really interesting that God gave every human their own “tell”. In my mind it’s God’s way of leveling the playing field against lying.

It also means that God hates lying so much that He made it so the human body will inadvertently “tell” when something spoken isn’t true.

God really really loves truth that much!

Truth is important to God. Embracing truth honors God. Embracing truth when there is a heavy price to pay for the lie is never easy, but I think God stands by us when we are willing to pay the price for telling the truth.

TBH it’s worth it!

Spiritual Practice: Truth

What does TRUTH mean to you? How important is truth?

In God, Deborah

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