Tangled Webs

Walter Scott Quoted: O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!

In many ways deceiving someone is worse than telling them a lie. A lie can be a short, even simple deviation from truth, and as long as you have a good memory, you can get away with it for a long time before being found out. Deceit however takes effort and time to build up a new and different picture which might have a basis of truth, but that kernel of truth is coated in another layer of deceit, and so it goes on with every part of the tangled web we try to weave. Let’s face it, we all know at least one person who is adept at this deliberate attempt to make themselves look better by trying to rewrite the truth to suit their own needs.

The child of God doesn’t need to fall into webs of deceit anyway, so why bring this subject up? Well, you could be forgiven for thinking the Christian is exempt, but think again. Are you always up front and clear in your speech to others? Sometimes we don’t want to tell that nice church steward how you really feel when they ask how you are doing, and that might be because you don’t have time to go into it. Or the subject is personal. Or just maybe you feel it’s none of their business. In any event what we say (yes, I do it too) can sometimes bear no resemblance to what we really feel or think. I agree that this example is not a particularly good one, and not very serious in anyone’s thinking.

Let your mind wander for a minute. No one wants to look bad to their family and friends. That’s human nature I believe, but that bit of our nature opens the door to more serious forms of deceit. The guy in church who always has it together, you know, the one who is the life of any group and knows and quotes his Bible sincerely? Is it possible that he is spinning a web of deceit, but all for good reason of course? Could he be hiding a broken relationship, marriage, or heart? It may be better for him to rise above his feelings when among friends. After all, nobody likes a moaner-groaner!

Then what about the well dressed lady who is always depressed and down, and first to tell you how bad things really are when you ask how she is doing, and she can go on a bit? Is it likely or probable that she is spinning her own web of deceit because she lost her husband just over a year ago, and doesn’t want her friends to know that she is really relieved because he was not good to her. It would look all wrong to her friends if she looked too upbeat when she should still be in mourning.

These are two very short and unlikely examples, but not impossible to understand. Now take a step back and look at yourself in the mirror. Is the person you see there, the same person that everyone else sees and knows? No, I thought not. Me neither!