Do you lie as much as you used to?

My father used to always ask my brother and me this question, “Do you lie as much as you used to?” If we said yes, we admitted we were liars. If we said no, we still admitted that we used to be liars, and are perhaps still lying. Now, although asked in jest, it is a valid question. At what point do we stop lying, if we do, to ourselves or those we love?

I was talking with my mother, and I asked her if this particular story I heard was true, she blatantly told me no it wasn’t. I already had a feeling it was a made up ruse, but I just had to be sure. So the thought came, “How often do we lie to ourselves and others?” Also, “How long does it take for us to lie to someone before we begin to believe it ourselves?”

I always thought I was a good liar, not something I should be proud of, but I thought so, until my mother always caught me in the lie. It sucked, but in the end it helped me to understand the power of truth. On occasion, I still find myself lying to myself about a particular thing or another. In fact, I think that most people do. I think humanity runs on subconscious lies that we tell ourselves. It could be anything from this outfit looks good on me to he really does care he is just playing it off. At this point, I just want to roll my eyes.

I am not one to enjoy drama that I am involved in, sometimes, on occasion, I do enjoy a little drama, but for the most part, I prefer the simpler life. But, when I think about lies I have told myself concerning just me or me and another person I realize how much drama that brings to myself. In the book of St. John, it says, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” I have always loved this scripture, and it has always set heavy on my heart. Most of the time, I know what the truth is; however, sometimes, I want to ignore it and deviate on the side of lies...call ‘em little white lies or just out and out lies, but they have kept me from getting into a worse situation.

The problem: I have reaped the consequences of those lies, and it isn’t pretty. When I would get in trouble, as a youngster, I would be caught in a lie, and inevitably be punished...but when it was all said and done, I could breathe easier because I no longer had to keep up the facade of the lie. Damn is it hard! You can only go so long with one lie before it begets another and then another, and in the end...the truth just doesn’t exist any longer.

Why do I talk about this? Because, the older I get the more I see the beauty of truth. Truth, with a capital “T”, is Christ Himself, and truth, with a little “t,” is the representation of what Christ is in our lives. So, in a sense, the older I get the more I see the beauty of Christ. Yes, in the end it all comes down to Christ. Eh...just truth for thought. So, the next time you ask yourself I you lie as much as you used to what will your response be?