TODAY IS…

a terrific day to show that you belong.

“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.”  Ephesians 4:25 NLT

There were men who were so afraid of the Truth Jesus represented that they were willing to bear false witness against Him, knowing that their dishonesty and complete lack of integrity would result in His death. Since lies are always harder to keep track of than the truth, the false witnesses talked with each other to get their stories straight.

“Yet even then their testimony did not agree.” (Mark 14:59 NIV).

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world’s believing him.”

Perhaps some of us know an individual whose lies are so frequent that no one even bothers to look for the truth in what they say anymore. Hopefully, the individual in question is not looking back at us when we look in the mirror.

Our actions also take the form of the truth. No matter what we say, our actions will always give us away if we are lying.

“Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.” (1 John 3:19 NLT).

Many times, people seem to forget that even if our lies are not detected by those around us, God always knows when we are lying. This fact should not be our motivation for being truthful. While it is definitely something to be aware of, honesty and truthfulness are a reflection of the character of God within us, rather than the discomfort we feel because we know He is watching. Honesty and truthfulness should be a natural outgrowth of our relationship with the Lord. They should be a result of the light of Christ on our lives. If everything we do or say takes place in the light, there is no room for the darkness of lies.

A lie reveals a lot more about our character and our relationship with God than most of us would care to think about. But think about it we must, because we should all be striving for the best relationship possible with Him. We should all cherish and protect the positive changes that take place in us, and in our lives, as a result of a good relationship with the Father.

The words of Thomas Jefferson should speak loudly to us even all these years after his death. We do not want ‘liar’ to be the word that pops into peoples’ heads when they hear our name.

Make truthfulness a living part of who you are.

Let your words, and your actions show the world that you belong to the truth, and today is a terrific day to start.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson