50 Shades of Lies

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Dear Diary,

Has honesty decided to leave mankind and move to the  South Pole or something?

The other day, my brother and I were talking about this subject of honesty and its implications. We were looking at the different shades of lies there are to us humans, and how God views them all.

*sigh*

No, honesty has not left us. It is mankind that has decided to leave her.

Why are people not honest?

It makes me so sad to see people take honesty very lightly. Honesty is vital, right? It is like a block in the foundation of a good mature christian person. So yes, of course it is very important. If you by any chance are missing that one block, rest assured that nothing will work out for you because truth will eventually come to the surface no matter how many bricks and boulders you tie to its neck.

You see, there are 3 main colors of lies. Each of those three has its own respective sub-shades, but let me define the 3 main ones:

1. WHITE: The famous white lie! It is the most lovely of them all because it is a combination of sympathy and a hint of deceptive enigma. People say them in order not make others feel bad. Take a look:

Person X: So…how was my casserole?! 😀 You know, I just ❤ to cook! I think I inherited my grandmother’s cooking genius.

Person (pi)aka the cumpulsive liar: Oh wow! This is…(hard swallow)…pretty…GOOD! Is that rosemary I taste? I so ❤ rosemary!

Person (pi) thinking: Oh my goodness, I so wish I had that disease where your taste buds don’t work! Ummmm…are there any dogs around here? Chickens? …Man, I wish I was in Brazil. Then I could pretend the casserole fell in the river and the piranhas devoured it. Oh wait, would they even like it??  

2. Gray: Yeah, you know that grey is not my color. It’s more on the evil side of things. You know, the selfish side. These lies you use to protect yourself, to get what you want, and at times even done in the name of God and with a “holy” purpose. Like in the story of Jacob when he deceived his father. Rebekah told Jacob to do so, that is because in her mind she was trying to help God so that His promise would be fulfilled. Yet, it was still a lie and he had to suffer the consequences, and boy were the consequences tough.

3. BLACK: Yeah, don’t get me started on this one. It’s quite clear that these lies are all in the highest level of evil and wicked. Compulsive liars would fit in this category as well.

…How do people even justify their dishonesty? Do they think that that was the right thing to do given the circumstances at the moment? And after the truth arises causing chaos and havoc, do they wish they were the anchor deep in the sea bed instead?

There might be many reasons, but the bottom line is that a lie is a lie, no matter what shade it is. Once that lie is told, you will have to work extra hard to regain that person’s trust again.

We should be Christlike, be tactful. We need to realize that honesty defines us, and it allows people know how reliable we are. And well–it also reveals our level of maturity.

We ought to speak truth and be wise. God can never bless a person or that person’s plans if they are living in dishonesty and are keeping truth from people who really deserve to know it. And like my Dad always says, we have to “be honest with ourselves and with God.” If a person follows this, then she/he will be able to be honest with everyone else on planet earth.

True, we have all sinned. The whole world…not a single righteous person. But the beauty of it all is that God still loves us, He will forgive us. Yet, He does give us a command: “Go and sin no more.”