Don't You Know? Part 3

Don't you know that truth matters? In everything? Some think it's okay to tell little white lies. Some think it's okay to omit details - thereby not telling the whole truth. The problem is, when you allow for a little fibbing, you end up lying a lot. Sliding scales of truth-telling ends up being any but truth-telling. I think maybe that's because our society - made up of us - you and I - have a hard time dealing with truth.

Why is that?

Maybe because it's sometimes easier to just fudge the truth a little to avoid the hassle of having to tell the whole, unvarnished truth. Or maybe you are pretending you're protecting someone by not being truthful. Other times it may because it's uncomfortable to live in the unyielding light of the truth.

I recently watched an episode of "My 600lb Life." It's a series of reality-based shows documenting a year in the life of a person's battle to lose hundreds of pounds in a year. Most of them I have seen are successful. The one I watched a few days ago followed a bed-ridden (because of her weight) woman around who said she wanted to lose the weight - said she wanted to lose it so she could be a better mom to her son - but her subsequent actions proved otherwise. The doctor who was helping her in the process said almost immediately upon meeting and getting to know her, said she was living in an altered state of reality. Where she saw progress, he saw little or no weight loss. As he said, "The tale of the scale tells it all." She lost some weight up front, then gained it all back and then some. And then spent the rest of the year trying to avoid contact with him. And yet, as her year was ending and the show was coming to a close, she still insisted she was losing weight and on the path to success. She hadn't lost a single pound. She was living in an altered state of reality that she created for herself so she didn't have to live with the fact that she was unwilling or unable (because of psychological issues) to do what it took to lose the weight and get healthy.

I wonder how many of us do that every single day on small and large issues? Sometimes it's almost imperceptible to us until something happens to open our eyes. I know I can fall into that trap.

In John 8, verses 31-32, Jesus says, "If you hold to my teachings, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

What truth are you hiding from? Where do you need to be set free in your life?