Professional Liars
September 22, 2019 by Rosemary Flaaten
Filed under Daily Devotions, Personal Growth
By Rosemary Flaaten –
Have you ever been in relationship with someone with whom you were never quite sure if what they said was a true reflection of reality?
The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:2 (MSG) warns that “These [professional] liars have lied so well and for so long that they’ve lost their capacity for truth.”
What a sad statement that someone can lose their capacity for truth. Over an extended period of time, these professional liars convince not only others but themselves as well that a lie is the truth and that the truth is false. Their understanding and convictions are characterized by mayhem and they no longer know right from wrong.
Do you work or live with someone like this? When they speak, you wonder if they can be trusted. Their character has been shredded by dishonesty. Their word is no longer valuable. You wonder when you may be sideswiped by their deception. A loss of integrity equates to the loss of a trusting relationship.
But, before we sit too long in the judgement seat, pointing our finger at others, let’s examine our own propensity for dishonesty. Perhaps its having an over-inflated sense of our abilities that has blocked our capacity to see our limitations. Perhaps it’s our tendency to turn a blind eye, ignoring our persistent sins such as overeating, gossip or pride. Maybe its a lingering memory that turns us away from God in shame rather than accepting the truth of His love and forgiveness.
Have we become a professional liar to ourselves? These patterns may be so ingrained within us that we don’t even realize what has happened to us. Its like a color-blind person, unable to realize that they are not seeing all the hues in the rainbow. Identifying truth versus lies in our inner being is something we are unable to do. We are desperate for God’s illuminating truth to show us the lies we harbor. Only then will we be able to reverse our tendency and become a person of honesty and integrity; a person known for truth.
PRAYER: Lord, show me where I have become blind to deception and may my heart and mind be opened to Your truth.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life” (Psalm 51: 6 MSG).
As a dynamic speaker and an award winning author of "A Woman and Her Relationships" and "A Woman and Her Workplace" , Rosemary Flaaten's passion is to see people deepen their relationship with God and others. She lives in Calgary, Canada.
Rosemary, thanks for standing up for truth, and calling us all into a better realization of how often we fall short. In some cultures, it’s acceptable to lie to someone as a show of respect, to tell them what we think they want to hear rather than truth. That is considered honorable. But it creates shell relationships, not true intimacy. I want to strive for a better relationship with God, and improve my work relationships and personal relationships by always having the foundation of truth holding us up. I appreciated your devotional thoughts today!