John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Reading this I can’t help thinking about all that’s going on in the US right now. There is a world of difference among the three categories of fiction, mistaken information, and lies, but those who are of the liar, as Jesus calls him here, deliberately try to blur the distinctions, and the volume of lies being poured out is astonishing. Those who are on the side of the liar applaud and reinforce the lies. Politicians gain much of the publicity, but this sort of thing extends to every area of society and life itself. After all, we have a Supreme Court justice who claimed she couldn’t “define a woman” because she “wasn’t a biologist.” When lies about sex and gender are vehemently defended, we are in deep trouble! Thankfully, it seems like a genuine backlash is kicking in. Recent events in politics have been encouraging, but the cover over the culture of lies is only beginning to be peeled back. We live in the Information Age indeed, and the liar has kicked into overdrive, knowing his days are short. (Revelation 12:12) It is of great importance that every believer seek the Holy Spirit as a filter for all the information that pours in, so that we may be able to discern the truth from all the lies. We also need to be careful that we don’t mistakenly relay information that isn’t true, because we don’t want to be party to the lies. The devil is indeed crafty, and he can make his lies sound very reasonable or likely. We also need discernment to distinguish between those who have been duped by the lies and those who are actively promoting the lies. Our real enemies aren’t visible! It was not casual that Jesus proclaimed Himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Those who belong to Him need to apply themselves fully to walking in the truth.

As I have written before, I had the great blessing of being raised by a man who took Absolute Honesty as one of the pillars of his life. I’ve never been comfortable with lying, thankfully. I have had to learn not to be gullible, expecting others to hold to the same standard! As a reader and writer I enjoy and appreciate fiction, and so am very aware of the distinctions between that and lies, but I have found that lies can be incorporated in fiction as well. Some of the books I have read incorporated some of the lies that are current in society today about gender and the like. I do not need to be entertained by lies! As someone with Teacher gifting, I tend to feel that stating truth should be sufficient to communicate it, but that is seldom the case. Since I desire that everyone know God’s truth and so be set free, (John 8:32) I need to come alongside them and walk with them so that they can recognize the truth themselves, rather than trying to dictate truth to them. Teachers like to dictate! All of that said, one of my anticipations of heaven is that everything will be truth there, with no lies whatsoever. What glory!

Father, thank You for Your truth, and for communicating it to my heart. Help me indeed walk in the light of Your truth consistently so that Your will may be done in and through me for Your glory. (1 John 1:7) Thank You. Hallelujah!