Half the truth is often a great lie.
Benjamin Franklin
We all lie a little. I lie mostly to myself. Out of fear I allow my perception of reality to change. I don't want to deal with the hurt. I push it down inside of me.
Then guilt sets in and I attempt to suppress the bad choice that was made. Instead of laying it down at God's feet I chose to tell myself half the truth. I tell myself these little sins or lies won't hurt anyone because no one will know. But others suffer because of the untold part. And that's the problem. My sin cuts me off from God. Then I'm not able to be Christ like to my family and myself.
"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear," says Isaiah 59: 1-2. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
As a mama I spend much effort teaching my boys to tell the truth. "I don't want you to lie to me, I want to know what really happened." The desire is to see my children work it out and get to the bottom of the problem. I don't punish them as harshly if they decide to tell the whole truth.
"All human sin seems so much worse in its consequences than in its intentions."
Reinhold Niebuhr
As a house keeper I pick up, clean up, move back, sort out, write out, make clean again.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
As a teacher I spend much of the day trying to figure out what really happened that caused students to have the difficulty.
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
So, I'm coming out with it and going to God...
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (1 John 1:8-10).
1 comment:
Kim, I really like your words here and the verses. You have just the right stories connected to the verses and quotes. thanks for blessing me with this! BTW Is Reginold related to Kent? ha ha
The whole truth - is hard for me sometimes, too. Thankfully, if we're in tune with the spirit, we feel God's Grace to help us process our half-truths and make things right with others and God. Admitting my sin is hard for me sometimes. PBPGINFWMY.
We sang a great song in church the other day that was a Young Life song too, from Psalm 51:10-12, by Keith Green incidentally (remember him?):
Create in me a clean heart oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away
From thy presence oh Lord
Take not thy Holy Spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me.
Peace,
Craig
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