Telling the Truth

A lot of us are discouraged by the apparent ease with which people are lying these days--whether they be in the halls of our government, those running for office, on Wall Street, at our places of work or school.

I am preparing a talk to be given in a week where I'll discuss this a bit, so it's been on my mind quite a lot lately--let alone if I turn on any newscast. What so many of us don't seem to understand is we help to create this in a new generation in our own homes when we say on the phone, "He's not here right now" about our husband so he won't have to speak to the person. Or we say it for our daughter who doesn't want to talk to a certain guy. What we are doing is teaching our children that it is okay to lie rather than tell the truth kindly.

And our actions speak loudly.

This has been a growing problem for years in our schools--relativity regarding right and wrong--"It all depends on the circumstances, you know." President Clinton confirmed the confusion in students minds when he stated, "I did NOT have sex with her (Monica Lewinsky)! Not only was it okay for him to lie, but now teens weren't sure what constituted sex.

Yet this is nothing new. When God asked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden why they were hiding after feeling totally comfortable in his presence they didn't take responsibility until they felt cornered.

I want to live by the truth in all things--no matter how ugly and uncomfortable it may make me. The Apostle John wrote, "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:21). By God's strength and in his power we can live this way.

To being truthful--!

Jo