Sky blue eyes never lie...

Ah yes, my Jewish Jesus with His blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.  Sheesh. I have always hated those portraits of the Arian Jesus. But alas, sooner or later the image sticks. Then it’s not so bad.

Truth be told, I have stared in the eyes of Christ (or is it Him staring into mine?) on so many occasions and in so many contexts, I can only attest to the fact that His eyes are True.  Nothing but Truth exists in Him. Truth in Light, Truth in Love, Truth in saving Grace.

Sadly, I did not write HOLE IN MY HEART about Jesus. I wrote it about a liar. Actually a series of liars for the song began over a decade before it was completed and I kept altering it to suit whomever my affections were possessed by at the time. One liar after another. What did Jesus say about that? Something like, “Don’t be saying Abraham or even God is your father when your father is the devil, the father of lies.”

Yup, He knew a long line of liars but since there was only Truth in Him, He could spot the mongrels immediately. Unlike us who have to discover our misplaced trust all too late. I recently called out someone for being a liar and he accused me of being judgmental as he lied to throw me off his mongrel scent. I never judged him, merely pointed out what I knew to be false and he attacked my character, my approach, my confidence… with more lies.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our noses actually grew every time we lied-just like Pinocchio?  My favorite part of the  Disney classic is when P’s nose begins to sprout! It would be so much easier if we could see visible consequence for our falsehoods instantly.  I guess God’s more concerned about our character than deterring us through guilt and shame.

Ah yes, guilt and shame. Isn’t that what we accuse our accusers of attempting to lay upon us when they point out the pain and devastation of our falsehoods? It’s a dirty little game we play with God’s messengers. In an attempt to make someone who loves us (or hates us) enough to point out our sin question their motive, integrity and observations, we dismiss everything God can do at that moment.

‘Tis a pity because God talks to His people through His people. And God also hates a liar. Whether you lie to me, to others or yourself, it’s something God will call you on at some point. He has spent the entire time I’ve known Him dealing with me in this area. Telling the truth (His Truth not our opinions) at any cost is hard to do! So I’m not here to judge but admonish. We all need to sop lying and start speaking what we know is true in His eyes.

If we make promises, commitments, oaths, plans… we have obligated ourselves by our words and our deeds need to reflect that. God is never an excuse to damage your credibility in the eyes of others.  How many times have we heard, “I know I was supposed to ____________ but God (or Satan) __________.  Talk about “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”! How many times can we fall back on supernatural excuses before we’re caught in a lie?

Every believer is accountable for the promises they make. Whether they should have made those promises or not is irrelevant.  Stuff comes up, life happens, yep, even God and Satan happen but there are to be NO CHRISTIAN FLAKES. This sets such a horrible example and leaves a wake of irreparable damage and God has addressed this time and time again throughout history.

When you tell someone you are there for them, as a friend, a partner, a lover, a worker, a supporter, a minister, a congregant… You have signed a contract, no, a blood oath with God or else it’s just the worthless crap that flies from your mouth that should be ignored like everything else about you. Because you cannot be trusted. It’s your call.

A man or woman is only as good as their word. We bind ourselves to our promises every time we make one because we have been commanded to do all things unto the Lord and to let our yes be yes, and no be no.

Excuses be damned as they already are. Without an example of responsibility we cannot be deemed trustworthy. If we cannot be trusted, how can anyone trust the God we represent?

 

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