PASTOR’S CORNER: Tell the truth

Telling the truth is not just a statement. It is or should be a way of life for the Christian believer. We are living in a time when lies are covered up as truth with the purpose of deceiving.

There was a video that presented a study in which Redwood trees were injected with a substance similar to adrenaline to keep them from becoming inactive. The trees that were injected died because they were not allowed the natural cycle of wintering. The video’s message was inaccurate. There never was a study.

Folks can do that now. They can doctor up stuff to make it look like something it is not. We see it all the time from those selling products to consumers. Sometimes they will doctor up stuff, put stuff in fine print, mislead and paint a pretty picture just to get us to believe that what they are selling is authentic and the real thing. How many of us have been burned by a furniture store that sold us bad furniture, a car dealer who sold us a lemon, a house realtor that didn’t disclose everything that was wrong with a house, a clothing store where the salesman sold us a suit or dress that didn’t fit, an insurance salesman that sold us a policy that had loopholes in it?

Or, what about seniors on Medicare by agents who dressed up plans just get us to go with a particular company, fire insurance policies that looked good up front until fire came and then we discovered certain items were not covered in the policy that they did not tell us about up front. Now, in this election season, we were bombarded by candidates on television and social media at all levels of government asking for our votes promising to be the perfect candidate and to do everything except give us the moon; kissing babies and telling people what they want to hear just to win an election.

Mudslinging and negative ads all over the place smearing their opponents. “Vote for me and I’ll give you everything but the kitchen sink!” They look good upfront until they get into office. Some may be sincere, but some are not. Folks are good at dressing up stuff and putting up a façade, an image to get us to believe something.

Years ago when I was a little boy growing up, there was a game show that used to come on television called “To tell the truth.” Some of us remember it; where three contestants all pretended to be the same person. A panel of celebrities would ask them questions trying to determine which one of the three was the actual person. At the end of the questionnaires, the celebrities would all tell which of the three they thought the real person was. The host of the game show would then say, “Will the real person please stand up!” The real person would stand up. Some would be shocked when they learned how the other two were able to deceive them into thinking that they were the real person.

Unlike the video I mentioned earlier about the Redwood trees, Christians should not be inaccurate in our Christian walk or our Christian talk. We should not have to dress ourselves up to appear to be something that we are not. We ought to be genuine inside and out all the time and live out our Christian life before the world. What you see is what you get!

We ought to be real or be still and we ought to be truthful. The truth will carry us a long way. Folks don’t believe that but telling the truth and being truthful and honest will elevate you in such a way that man will not understand how you got what you got. When our lives are characterized by truth and honesty, it will go a long way with both man and God. God wants his children to be truthful. That’s who he is. Solomon, the very wise man, said “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment (Proverbs 12:17).”

That’s a mouth full right there.

What is Solomon saying? Well, for one thing, he’s saying here what he said back in chapter 6 of Proverbs that there are six things that the Lord hates.“A lying tongue” is one of them, according to Proverbs 6:17. In Proverbs 6:19, he said “A false witness that speaks lies.” David was in agreement with his son; for he said “He that works deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that tells lies will not tarry in my sight (Psalm 101:7).”

Folks who tell the truth are a blessed people. They have the joy of the Lord and God gives them peace. They are happy.

An honest man is to be commended. God blesses his walk and his talk and his children’s children. They are blessed going out, and blessed coming in. Let’s be people who think before we speak. Can we do that on today? The world is listening to what we say. Our unsaved family and our children are listening. Our neighbors, our church members and our co-workers are listening to what we say.

Community, it is not a good testimony to be called a lying Christian. Folks ought to point at us and say, “There’s somebody that tells the truth!”

Community, the devil is the father of lies. He was a liar from the beginning (John 8:44) so that when we don’t tell the truth we align ourselves with him. Let’s all of us be people that tell the truth.