No human system will endure unless it is built on truth
Steven
Charleston
_____________________
when I was younger
younger than today
we used to have a saying we would use when friends
(mostly)
would insist upon stances we did not agree with
“Go ahead, live a lie”
Go ahead
Live a lie!
it is not so funny anymore
as too many people literally choose to live a life
based on lies
call it what you will
alternative reality
ideologically informed reality
people have chosen to abandon the truth for lies
sometimes the lies are clear (and blatant)
the big lie
that the 2020 election was stolen
(that is a lie)
but more often than not
the lies we tell
especially the lies we tell to ourselves
are more difficult for us to see
for we convince ourselves
often with great sincerity,
that what we have chosen to believe
is actually the truth
the fact is we believe what we want to believe
and what we want to believe is not always true
American exceptionalism is a lie
America has its good points, and it's bad
but the truth is (if you look at the facts) that it is
not exceptional
it is just another country trying to stumble its way
forward and often failing
it has been endowed with great giftedness
but it has not used its blessings wisely
we have too many ultra-rich, and way too many poor
we have a predatory healthcare system
our education system is second to many
we are often a global bully
we worship power and even violence
the church often is enmeshed in subtle deceit
it says it “welcomes” all, but clearly doesn’t
it talks about grace alone, but is awash in merit
it talks about a God of love,
but then insists that this same God is planning on
torturing most of humanity eternally
it is wildly inconsistent and hypocritical
it talks about the Kingdom of Heaven
but ignores the way of that Kingdom for the kingdoms of the
earth
it lives a lie
seeking to rule, dominate, control, and coerce
rather than welcome, love, and serve.
thus violating the heart, the core of the Gospel
we as individuals lie
sometimes to others, often to ourselves
about who we are
about what we have done
about what we think and what we feel
and the problem is this
while likes may make us feel better, short-term
and lies may give us a “win”, short-term
anything based on a lie will ultimately fail
A political party that lies to itself and the people
will eventually fail
it may get caught up in its lies (finally) and lose power
or it may drag the countries into its lies, and destroy
us all
either way
a fail
a church that lies to itself will die
it may flourish for a while
it may meet in large auditoriums
but in the end, the world will reject it
for not being authentic, and not having real spiritual
power
(and it will keep lying and claim persecution)
and we?
we human creatures with our petty lies
well will fail to become all that we could be
people reflecting the image of God
light
salt
yeast
when we lie we shrink and shrivel
because only the truth will keep us connected
to the one who is the way, the TRUTH, and the life
this day look in the mirror
reflect honestly on what you see
celebrate the good
lament the bad
praise the blessings
ask for forgiveness for the failures
because here is the truth
God loves us as we are
and amazing things when we are connected to God
in Spirit and in Truth.
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