A sign along the highway in Wisconsin states, “Lies are destroying America.”
It is ironically true. Truth matters, and so do lies.
How did we get to the point where virtually everything we hear must be analyzed to determine whether it is true or not? How did so many Americans come to accept lying as normal? And worse, how have so many bought into “Wokism,” which is all out war against Truth!
It is like declaring war on gravity. You cannot win! Regardless of the answer, I call on every American to speak THE TRUTH, and nothing but THE TRUTH.
Readers might recall an event from 1999 that would have been quite humorous if it weren’t so costly. As reported in “World and Nation,” Oct. 1, 1999, NASA lost its “Mars Climate Orbiter” into space due to engineers making what many suggest was a very simple and avoidable error. They failed to convert English measurements into metric before the craft’s launching.
It was a multibillion-dollar mistake! John Logsdon, who was the director of George Washington’s Space Policy Institute commented,
“There seems to have emerged over the last couple of years a systematic problem in the space community of insufficient attention to detail.”
You think?
Yes, they ignored the truth and it cost them (or taxpayers) big time! Truth matters, and not just in space exploration! Variations in recipes, which may appear minor, can totally change a meal. Just substitute Baking Soda for Baking Powder some time!
People my age remember a time when “your word was your bond,” deals were made with a handshake, and there was no greater insult than to be called a liar.
Not so much today.
Sadly, a friend of a former president (from the 90s) commented that the president was “an exceptionally good liar,” and he meant it as a compliment! Such things do not bode well for America. It is impossible to function as a society when you cannot trust anyone.
Honesty is essential to trust!
Too many Americans are reckless with their words, lying even when there is no reason to do so. But God is not amused. We learn of His hatred of lies in the book of Revelation:
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers. . . and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death,” (Rev. 21:8 NKJV).
Politically, many Americans accept “their guy” lying, declaring that “all politicians lie,” which may or may not be accurate; but it is reminiscent of the Psalmist who wrote, “I said in my haste, ‘all men are liars,’” (Ps. 116:11 NKJV) the point actually being that, no, not everyone lies, though it does appear to be so at times.
There are always men and women of integrity who ought to be favored; but we seem to have become a society that too often pays “insufficient attention to detail.”
There are both short-term and long-term consequences of normalizing lying. One of the first things one notices is that you cannot depend on people to do what they say they will do.
How often have you heard someone complain that contractors don’t show up when they say they will, or that products do not live up to their promos? How long can our social contract continue when so many things are not what they claim to be?
It may be that the greatest contributors to the destruction of trust and civility in American culture are the Media elite.
It is not enough to generalize about the Media. We must point out the fact that many individual players, people with large platforms, are liars. Much of what the talking heads on CNN and MSNBC say are straight up lies! The division and anger in America stem largely from the lies and deceptions of these public voices.
They portray both sides of the major issues facing the country inaccurately. Surveys routinely reveal that the public distrusts the Media, in general; but human nature being what it is, people tend to believe the voice that fits their own paradigm on a given issue rather than investigating it for accuracy. For some reason, distrust of the Media has not produced the appropriate skepticism or fact checking on the part of the listeners.
Our cultural shepherds have pushed the country to discard belief in God and that has had serious consequences. G.K. Chesterton rightly noted,
“When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.”
It is not an accident that the very ones who say there is no God or truth, demand we accept their lies as true! And multitudes do. It does explain why God calls us sheep!
Americans should consider this: Does a good person lie to those he respects and loves? In other words, why would any thinking person continue to listen to the talking heads who do not respect us enough to tell us the truth? Yet Americans continue to heed the media elite, who routinely lie to us, even as polls show that they are held in very low regard.
In a healthy, informed society, lies tend to have a short “shelf life.” They are usually exposed, people discard them, and those who promoted them are discredited. It is quite surprising the durability of the current big lies, but with so many voices spreading them, they may endure longer than normal; but know this: they will be exposed and they will collapse in time. You can count on that!
Every school child, (I hope) has read the story of “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf.’”
The townspeople discovered, after several of the boy’s alarms, that the wolves were not threatening and quit responding to his alarms. One expects that such will be the situation when enough people discover the FACT that they are being lied to by the Left.
With panic and tears the nation is being told that boys can be girls and girls can be boys, and that if children are denied “affirming care,” (meaning bodily mutilation and sexual abuse), they will be scarred for life and are at great risk of suicide. As the testimonials of young people so abused go public, at some time the pushback will be and should be severe.
Anyone involved in the mutilation of minor children ought to suffer the just consequences of that abuse! I understand that the lawsuits have already begun. May they be successful in helping the abused and in stopping the abuse!
God’s Word, the Bible, is equated with truth. Jesus stated,
“sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth,” (John 17:17).
Even more interesting is the connection God makes between His word and the operations of the universe. In Hebrews 1:3 we are told that He upholds “all things by the word of His power,” (NKJV) meaning that His words, which are Truth, holds the universe together!
If Truth maintains the universe, what will lies do? And if, as we read in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” what will lies bring? Well, look out your window, read the paper, check your phone, or watch TV to see firsthand what happens to a country that tolerates and normalizes lying.
The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, wrote in Proverbs 23:23,
“Buy the truth and do not sell it…”
Honesty is not just the best policy; it is the best principle!
It should mark every word that escapes our lips and characterize all that we do.
Genuine creativity has always been the province of deities. Even the pagans of antiquity believed that only gods could create things. Today, in the vanity of their minds, many believe that their words can shape or change reality, thus making themselves gods.
It is another lie based on foolish arrogance! Only God’s Word holds such creative power, and we must bring our words into conformity to His!
Neither friendships nor cultures can long endure deceptions and dishonesty. All Americans, and especially those who profess to love and trust God, must put aside all lying and speak the truth.
It is necessary if we would see a healing of the divisions in the country (though the truth may hurt until one submits to it), and if America is to have a future of liberty.
God cannot long allow a culture to flout such a fundamental principle as Truth, but a humble repentance and return to integrity and honesty may help preserve the nation and the freedoms with which we have been so blessed!
