Everyone needs to live his/her life
Many people do not live their own lives – they live according to what another person expects from them: I met a woman who was so afraid of her husband that the lived as a slave to abide by his wishes. Others live according to what they believe should be the way to live: according to rules and regulations of society; this is the situation where the Jones’s are the example to follow. So many want to feel accepted that they abandon their own personality and their own fate. Many others live for short term enjoyment and in the process hurt themselves because all one’s choices have consequences that cannot be avoided. In fact, too many people live in a prison and are not really free. The main problem seems to be that most people live according to untruths or half-truths.
How to recognise lies
You must realise that a half-truth is worse than a lie! Why? Because a lie can most of the time be easily recognised but a half-truth can seem to be innocent. The first lie in history was a half-truth. According to the Bible, Satan’s statement that the man and woman would not die, was true with relation to their physical life – but was a lie about their relationship to God and their spiritual life.
We are every day confronted by half-truths and lies that deeply influence our lives. From childhood we learn different lies as part of one’s culture and society. We are for example, influenced to be important and when we do not excel in any specific area, we feel unworthy as a person. People aim to be rich and feel that they would be happy when they have lots of money. Others, especially women, want to be pretty and slim – that would attract the right guy; and then they marry someone who has no respect for them and even abuse them. Youngsters grow up with cell phones in their hands and permanently on the social media – that is cool! But they don’t know what they miss out on when they do not have real and personal relationships with other people.
How do one recognise a half-truth or a lie? The truth always leads to deep inner peace and to healing; truth always builds up and never breaks something down – it incorporates real love and leads to life, while lies always break the beautiful and ultimately leads to death.
The battle between truth and the lies
In the last instance truth is not a logical concept but it is a Person. God is called the Source of love and truth. – Jesus called himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. He came to reveal the character of God and to help us distinguish between truth and untruth. On the other hand the enemy is called a liar and the “father of the lies” who wants to destroy us through our wrong choices when we accept the lie or the half-truth.
The truth sets you free – care for yourself
To take care of ourselves, it is necessary to understand the battle in which we exist. We must choose the truth in every situation and thus live the life that was given us without wasting it by trying to adapt to the lies of society. The promise of Scripture is that “the Truth shall set you free”. That is why one should accept Jesus, the Truth as one’s Guide for everyday life and put one’s life into his hands – what He taught is still the truth and that truth saves us from an empty life which is in fact a form of death while a person is still breathing and walking.
KERN
Alle mense leer en aanvaar van kindsbeen af halwe waarhede en leuens. Dit is die bose se manier om ‘n mens se lewe te steel – baie mense is gevangenes van allerlei halwe waarhede en leef nie regtig nie. Net vertroue in ons Skepper-Vader en in Jesus wat gesê het dat Hy die Waarheid is, maak ons vry!