The church which I serve as pastor is currently in the process of finding a Minister to Youth. Since we posted this available position publicly, we have received 40+ resumes. Last week I received a lengthy one. As I started to read, it became obvious, rather quickly, that the applicant was puffing his record. He claimed membership on international ministry boards, asserted that he was the founder of several ministries, etc. His title - the Rev. Dr. - raised a flag of cautious interest, too. Not too many Ph. D.'s are interested in youth ministry positions paying entry level salaries! So, I turned to the page where he listed the institutions where he had earned his educational credentials. They were Internet diploma mills. I filed that one in the garbage can! People who try to be someone they are not are tragic figures!
There are not many things that are more destructive to relationships than dishonesty. People who inflate their accomplishments, who misrepresent themselves - OK, let's just say it, who lie! - lose our trust and faith. Yet, everywhere we go, we find lies, misrepresentations, and image building going on. It happens to such an extent that we are forced to ask, "What's really going on here? What's real; what's 'spin?' " The most tragic figure is that person who has pretended before the world and to himself for so long that he has started to believe his own stories! Truth and fiction are a hopelessly tangled knot that only God can unravel.
Jesus does not tip toe around the issue of honesty. In a rebuke to some who refused his teaching he said - "...the Devil, ... has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!" (John 8:44-45, NLT) Ouch! When we speak less than truthfully, we become like the Enemy of God whose stock in trade is deception and lies! Evil thrives on lies. When it is exposed to the Light, it cannot survive. Lies, when confronted with Truth, are like inflated balloons that meet sharp needles! Bang! They collapse, deprived of the hot air that gave them the appearance of substance!
Truth is resilient. Jesus even claims Truth as one of His names - "I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life!" Yes, it is hard to commit to integrity, to telling the truth, isn't it? It is hard to admit to our sins and failures, first to ourselves, then to God, and then to those we have offended. But it is liberating, too. A person who has committed to living with integrity never has to worry about keeping his stories straight. He never has to be anxious about being exposed by someone 'who knows too much!'
The Bible says, "Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire." (Colossians 3:9, The Message) Embrace the truth. There are few things as refreshing as a person who is authentic, who knows who he is, who is content in his own skin. As we let God love us, we do not need to impress, pretend, or hide. He knows us as we are; indeed, even better than we know ourselves - and loves us. When we believe that and receive His love, confessing our sins and failures, He forgives and cleans us up.
Got a few skeletons hidden away? Trying to impress others with stories that have a little 'added' content? Open up to Christ! Let Him love you to the truth.
Here's a word from the Word for this day. Take it with you today. Note the end result - underlined in the passage!
As we grow up in Christ, "then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:14-16, NLT)
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