“Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.”
Psalms 119:29
Lying is a tricky thing.
It can feel at times as though a wee ‘white lie’ here and there can ease tension or save someone pain.
But we sure don’t like being lied to, do we?
Me: “Why did you sneak a snack now, little friend? Snack time is in fifteen minutes!”
Little: “But I didn’t!”
Me: *eyes the chocolate smears on the little’s face*
Also me: “Are you sure you didn’t sneak a snack? Not even one bite?”
Little: *solemn innocent expression* “I’m sure, Teacher. I’m totally sure!”
Um. Yeah.
Busted.
Me (to God) “Don’t think I need You on this one. I’ve got this. We are all systems go!”
Also me: *falls flat on my face*
Also me (to God): “I can’t do that! That’s too big (too overwhelming, too scary.. – fill in the blanks with whatever works at the moment.)
Lies, from both directions.
That’s where the Bible comes in.
The Apostle Paul refers to the Word of God as a mirror – an accurate reflection of who I am, who God is, and where I and all those around me fit into the bigger picture.
I don’t like mirrors, do you?
They are just so – so, well, realistic. They show it like it is. And we don’t always like uncomfortable truths about ourselves, do we?
If you’re like me, you’d prefer a gentler image. You want the mirror to be kind – to not show your age, or that muffin top, or the bags under your eyes.
Yet if we don’t see ourself accurately, we can’t become aware of places where positive change needs to take place. I certainly can’t wash away those smears of chocolate if I’m not aware there is a problem…
See, the image we hold up of ourselves is like the photo above – broken. Splintered. Skewed, either toward feeding our ego or feeding our self hatred. And it is this broken image that causes us to begin lying to ourselves, creating layers of false realities, false faces, false skins, until we don’t even recognize ourselves.
Liar, liar, heart on fire…
I want to be real. Even if it comes at a cost. I want to be genuine. I want to come to grips with both my weaknesses and my strengths – not under or over-estimating, not over or under-valuing what I as a human being created in the image of God was designed to bring to the table.
I want to love and nurture and protect the skin I’m in. I want to love and nurture others and be a useful part of my local community.
And I can only do that as I remove the false layers and get real with who I am, and who God is shaping me to be.
Are you so busy lying to yourself that you have lost sight of where you can plug in and be useful and beneficial in your world? Do you know your strengths? Are you kind or judgemental toward your weaknesses?
I’d say there’s some mirror repair that still needs to happen in my world.
Make some inroads on self awareness as you study God’s Word with me?
Father, how we need Your truth – a truth that brings balance and connection to our truest self. Bless us as we walk further into Your truth. Bring healing and restoration to the images that have been shattered by pain or by us accepting messages about ourselves that were not true in the past. Amen.
Growing in Grace 