Good Sunday Morning,
What started in the mid-1950s as a harmless enough television game show in which a person of some notoriety and two impostors tried to match wits with a panel of celebrities; with the object of the game being to fool the celebrities into voting for either of the two impostors, has gotten a bit out of hand lately. Yes, I’m talking about “To Tell the Truth” . . . which unfortunately doesn’t seem that important these days. If you want my opinion (which apparently you do since you’re reading this), I think the importance of speaking the truth has never been more apparent.
When we speak the truth, we’re also telling our audience that we value our relationship with them. When we tell the truth, our relationships grow stronger; when we deceive, our relationships suffer. So don’t prevaricate; your audience should not doubt the veracity of what you say . . . (I figured since I’m telling you something you already know, I should toss in a couple of $4 words to also teach you something you may not already know).
What some of us saw this past week reminds me of the most notable line from author Sir Walter Scott, “Oh what a tangled web we weave / first we practice to deceive. Simply put, he was telling us that when someone lies or acts dishonestly, they are lining up dominos of trouble, which eventually will fall and run out of control. Do you know anyone that this describes? If you do, that really is someone you ought to avoid.
And if you don’t believe me (which is troubling since this message is about truth telling), then believe our God, who thought truth telling was important enough to include in his top ten list. Remember, coming in at No. 9, he said that “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Yea, being truthful is what he was talking about.
We should also all recall (i) Proverbs 12:19 - Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment; (ii) Psalm 34:13 - Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit and (iii) the many times when Jesus spoke, when he reminded us of the importance of honesty by first saying “truly I tell you.” So, not only did our heavenly father teach us to be truthful, but I bet we all taught our own children the same . . . with that being said, perhaps we should actually do so.
So pour yourself a cup of coffee then sit back, relax . . . swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth . . . and then take solace in knowing that the Lord has made this day; may you rejoice and be glad in it.
Jeff Bergstrom
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P.P.S. Be aware, even saying “Liar Liar Pants on Fire” is likely a lie.
