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!
The aim is to provide a stimulating mix of personal opinions (from a mainstream Christian worldview), and associated comments, which will be accepted and published if they comply with the usual courtesy and decency.
Showing posts with label deceit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deceit. Show all posts
Friday, 8 February 2019
Wednesday, 9 January 2019
Who ARE You?
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah17:9NLT
I wonder if you have heard those words aimed at you, or perhaps they stumbled from your own lips to an unsuspecting friend, or dare I say even a spouse? The truth may be that we are all a combination of more than one person. A simple example is the voice you use ‘normally’, and the other more refined voice you adopt when on the phone, or curt voice used when talking with some of those perky cold sales callers who always seem to call at tea time?
It can be something more significant and serious than our phone voice of course. The words will almost always be spoken during a disagreement or argument where your words or reactions are not what was expected. I suggest that somewhere along the way in many separations and divorces, these words have been used in anger along with their close cousins, “I don’t know you anymore”. On a lighter note, you may even have uttered them to yourself when you found that you were doing something out of character.
There is a solution which covers everyone and every situation from the sublime to the ridiculous and it is this: God loves you whatever ‘person mix’ you are. That’s every person you ever were, or are now. As a Godly lady once said to a group of teenage girls, “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from, God loves you”. That was enough to turn one young life around. The Bible tells us clearly that whatever person we were or are, Jesus loves us enough to die for all of your sinful personalities, and mine too. It’s enough to make you eternally thankful, and I am certainly grateful beyond words. All of me!
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans5:8ESV
I wonder if you have heard those words aimed at you, or perhaps they stumbled from your own lips to an unsuspecting friend, or dare I say even a spouse? The truth may be that we are all a combination of more than one person. A simple example is the voice you use ‘normally’, and the other more refined voice you adopt when on the phone, or curt voice used when talking with some of those perky cold sales callers who always seem to call at tea time?
It can be something more significant and serious than our phone voice of course. The words will almost always be spoken during a disagreement or argument where your words or reactions are not what was expected. I suggest that somewhere along the way in many separations and divorces, these words have been used in anger along with their close cousins, “I don’t know you anymore”. On a lighter note, you may even have uttered them to yourself when you found that you were doing something out of character.
There is a solution which covers everyone and every situation from the sublime to the ridiculous and it is this: God loves you whatever ‘person mix’ you are. That’s every person you ever were, or are now. As a Godly lady once said to a group of teenage girls, “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from, God loves you”. That was enough to turn one young life around. The Bible tells us clearly that whatever person we were or are, Jesus loves us enough to die for all of your sinful personalities, and mine too. It’s enough to make you eternally thankful, and I am certainly grateful beyond words. All of me!
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans5:8ESV
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Everything!
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
‘Everything’ is a very strong word, and overused at times but here it is used correctly. Whatever we do in life comes out of our heart. When we say and do good things, we are told we have a kind heart, but when we do and say hurtful things we are told that our heart is rotten to the core. In fact, these thoughts may not be said to our face, but they are felt.
We are told in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” so what can we do about it? “Above all else” is another set of strong words but they tell us, and that includes me, that over and above anything I might think, say, or do, I must guard my heart. That means keeping a very close eye on my words and actions. By the time my inner thoughts have shown themselves outwardly it may be too late to correct the failing in the eyes of my children, grandchildren and friends who might just be looking for a good example.
If we don’t show a good example, then the people who count in our life will find someone else who acts as they say and think with truth and integrity. I like the old example of the three gates that our words must pass through before they emerge from our lips. Are my words, TRUE, are they NECESSARY, and are they KIND? If we can do that we will have set a guard on our heart. Lord, make us faithful to be the example our family and friends need!
‘Everything’ is a very strong word, and overused at times but here it is used correctly. Whatever we do in life comes out of our heart. When we say and do good things, we are told we have a kind heart, but when we do and say hurtful things we are told that our heart is rotten to the core. In fact, these thoughts may not be said to our face, but they are felt.
We are told in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” so what can we do about it? “Above all else” is another set of strong words but they tell us, and that includes me, that over and above anything I might think, say, or do, I must guard my heart. That means keeping a very close eye on my words and actions. By the time my inner thoughts have shown themselves outwardly it may be too late to correct the failing in the eyes of my children, grandchildren and friends who might just be looking for a good example.
If we don’t show a good example, then the people who count in our life will find someone else who acts as they say and think with truth and integrity. I like the old example of the three gates that our words must pass through before they emerge from our lips. Are my words, TRUE, are they NECESSARY, and are they KIND? If we can do that we will have set a guard on our heart. Lord, make us faithful to be the example our family and friends need!
Sunday, 16 September 2018
Whispers
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. Proverbs 16:28 NIV
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 2 Corinthians 12:20
You will be aware of the term, ‘Chinese Whispers’ which is nice way of saying gossip, or tattletale. Whispers sounds better, but we do a big disservice to the Chinese to tag them in that phrase. So gossip it is and gossip it remains.
The various acts of gossip are usually attributed to the womenfolk, but I have found that men are much the same, and as bad if not worse. You see, gossip is not just a soft whisper behind someone’s back. It can be peddled as an intentional deceit to mislead the thinking of others, to help turn opinions and preferences round to their own wishes! I would go as far as to suggest that this type of deliberate, deceitful gossip is the preferred instrument of the menfolk.
Not only does gossip separate close friends but it is listed among other (we would consider) more serious sins like discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. This puts the action of the gossiper in a fresh light, doesn’t it? So we must be aware of the damage it can cause, and stay well clear. There is no such thing as it being a good thing. ‘Helpful words’ from a friend like, “I’m only telling you this for your own good”, or “I was told not to say, but…”, don’t count because it is still gossip, and we must be alert to these deceptions.
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 2 Corinthians 12:20
You will be aware of the term, ‘Chinese Whispers’ which is nice way of saying gossip, or tattletale. Whispers sounds better, but we do a big disservice to the Chinese to tag them in that phrase. So gossip it is and gossip it remains.
The various acts of gossip are usually attributed to the womenfolk, but I have found that men are much the same, and as bad if not worse. You see, gossip is not just a soft whisper behind someone’s back. It can be peddled as an intentional deceit to mislead the thinking of others, to help turn opinions and preferences round to their own wishes! I would go as far as to suggest that this type of deliberate, deceitful gossip is the preferred instrument of the menfolk.
Not only does gossip separate close friends but it is listed among other (we would consider) more serious sins like discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. This puts the action of the gossiper in a fresh light, doesn’t it? So we must be aware of the damage it can cause, and stay well clear. There is no such thing as it being a good thing. ‘Helpful words’ from a friend like, “I’m only telling you this for your own good”, or “I was told not to say, but…”, don’t count because it is still gossip, and we must be alert to these deceptions.
Monday, 21 May 2018
...and nothing but the truth...
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
When you take an oath to tell the truth in a court of law, you don’t get to pick and choose which parts of the story you tell. It’s not just the truth that’s needed, it’s the WHOLE truth and ONLY the truth. The oath used by most courts says: “I promise to tell the TRUTH, the WHOLE TRUTH, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.” But why is this oath so tightly worded?
When we are faced with a situation that might put us in a bad light, or show us up in the eyes of family and friends, we choose the easy way of telling only a part of the story, and it may well be true. That also goes as we recount and retell someone else’s account of events, and perhaps even more so. Telling the whole story can be a hazard to our perceived integrity and reputation, so we speak the parts that only go our way, and leave out the damaging parts. You become very vulnerable when you decide to tell the whole truth, and our human nature doesn’t like it when our pride takes a hit.
When Scripture says the heart is deceitful and sick, it does not overstate or sugar coat the problem. In truth, if we look at our own lives, we don’t always tell the whole truth, and we take the chance no one will notice so that we get away with it, again especially as we retell someone else’s story. And anyway we think, the other person who has a different view, is doing the same thing, so we are equal. Yes, we have hearts that are desperately wicked.
We all know that someone who will only answer the part of the question you put to them, and they hold back the rest. The result is that you must ask the correct questions to get closer to the truth, assuming that you do eventually believe you got the full story. How do I know this? Firstly, the Bible tells me, and secondly, I do recognise that heart and at times, it is mine. Sadly, I can get away with only telling a part of the whole truth that I know, and only seldom get caught out. What about you? Are you open and honest enough, when faced with a real question, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Tough ask, isn’t it? So who is the only one who can be trusted with the whole truth? We must leave that answer in the words of the next verse and be open to the Lord’s searching and testing.
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10 ESV
When you take an oath to tell the truth in a court of law, you don’t get to pick and choose which parts of the story you tell. It’s not just the truth that’s needed, it’s the WHOLE truth and ONLY the truth. The oath used by most courts says: “I promise to tell the TRUTH, the WHOLE TRUTH, and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.” But why is this oath so tightly worded?
When we are faced with a situation that might put us in a bad light, or show us up in the eyes of family and friends, we choose the easy way of telling only a part of the story, and it may well be true. That also goes as we recount and retell someone else’s account of events, and perhaps even more so. Telling the whole story can be a hazard to our perceived integrity and reputation, so we speak the parts that only go our way, and leave out the damaging parts. You become very vulnerable when you decide to tell the whole truth, and our human nature doesn’t like it when our pride takes a hit.
When Scripture says the heart is deceitful and sick, it does not overstate or sugar coat the problem. In truth, if we look at our own lives, we don’t always tell the whole truth, and we take the chance no one will notice so that we get away with it, again especially as we retell someone else’s story. And anyway we think, the other person who has a different view, is doing the same thing, so we are equal. Yes, we have hearts that are desperately wicked.
We all know that someone who will only answer the part of the question you put to them, and they hold back the rest. The result is that you must ask the correct questions to get closer to the truth, assuming that you do eventually believe you got the full story. How do I know this? Firstly, the Bible tells me, and secondly, I do recognise that heart and at times, it is mine. Sadly, I can get away with only telling a part of the whole truth that I know, and only seldom get caught out. What about you? Are you open and honest enough, when faced with a real question, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Tough ask, isn’t it? So who is the only one who can be trusted with the whole truth? We must leave that answer in the words of the next verse and be open to the Lord’s searching and testing.
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10 ESV
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Somebody's Lying!
“Don’t tell me lies. I can’t stand lies!” The words were spoken with chilling sincerity. A mum to her daughters and to her husband. I mean, as if we would! We were almost afraid to tell even the faintest whiff of a fib, never mind an outright lie. That has stayed with me, and to this day I cannot stand deliberate lies or deceit, given just to save face.
There was a terrible chemical attack on the innocents in Syria this past week. The perpetrators can fire the nerve gas rockets, and they can be big macho men, but they don’t have the backbone to tell the truth. Somebody is lying! There was another case of a celebrity accused and arrested for abuse that happened some years back. It is his word against a fistful of the abused victims who say he was a predator. Somebody is lying.
When a government or a highly paid famous celebrity shouts, “It wisnae me. It wis a big boy and he went that way” you can be sure something is wrong. The Shakespeare play Hamlet, has these words, “She doth protest too much”. It was a true saying then, and it is still true today. But just where do these and all lies come from? They come from an evil heart. Am I allowed to use the word evil, because we don’t usually like it because we are all sophistaced now to know that evil does not exist, but we are just misguided. The devil himself is in the hearts of these liars, after all, the following verse shows what Jesus thought about the source of lies and deceit: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NIV
Thursday, 7 February 2013
What Are You?
What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them. Matthew 15:11 NIV
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23:7 NKJV
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV
Customers in the UK have been eating horse meat, labelled on some processed food packaging as ‘beef’, and they didn’t know. I’m not sure about you, but I like to know what I am eating. I am quite adventurous, and have eaten some strange foods, but I always believed what it was supposed to be. For me, it doesn’t really matter that it was horse meat, it was more the lie in the labelling. I’ll say it again, I like to know what is going into my digestive system, and I am not alone with that. I like the idea that it is (or should be) what it says on the tin.
The old saying, “You are what you eat” comes to mind and to a certain extent this is true. Take a look round at the sizes of some of your friends. So we take a lot of notice and care about what goes IN! But do we take any notice of what comes OUT of our mouths? In fact do we really care? The kind of heart you have determines what comes out of your mouth, and as far as God is concerned, He is more worried that our inside is right, and less concerned about what we eat!
So, why don’t we take at least as much interest in the condition of our heart, and not the road from our mouth to our stomach. That way, we can be assured that our tongue will not be foul, or lying, or deceiving, and that would be a real improvement to the environment.
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23:7 NKJV
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV
Customers in the UK have been eating horse meat, labelled on some processed food packaging as ‘beef’, and they didn’t know. I’m not sure about you, but I like to know what I am eating. I am quite adventurous, and have eaten some strange foods, but I always believed what it was supposed to be. For me, it doesn’t really matter that it was horse meat, it was more the lie in the labelling. I’ll say it again, I like to know what is going into my digestive system, and I am not alone with that. I like the idea that it is (or should be) what it says on the tin.
The old saying, “You are what you eat” comes to mind and to a certain extent this is true. Take a look round at the sizes of some of your friends. So we take a lot of notice and care about what goes IN! But do we take any notice of what comes OUT of our mouths? In fact do we really care? The kind of heart you have determines what comes out of your mouth, and as far as God is concerned, He is more worried that our inside is right, and less concerned about what we eat!
So, why don’t we take at least as much interest in the condition of our heart, and not the road from our mouth to our stomach. That way, we can be assured that our tongue will not be foul, or lying, or deceiving, and that would be a real improvement to the environment.
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Living a Lie
World renowned cyclist and record holder Lance Armstrong has finally come clean, and admitted taking performance enhancing drugs over a long period of time, and during his seven Tour De France title wins. He was under immense pressure to tell the truth, because there had been a lot of evidence put into the public domain, that he was hiding a big lie. To cover up his wrongdoing, he bullied others to help him hide his actions for a long time, but as we all know, the truth will out in the end. It was only a matter of time before the lie he was living would be exposed. He believed that retelling the same lie on and on, would make it believable and even the truth!
Let’s not be too hasty to judge him, or anyone else who may be living a lie. Not one of us is the person other people think we are. We all, without exception, hide something, the only difference is a matter of scale. Lance Armstrong deceived many people, and achieved many trophies during his own chosen lie, but can we truly say we have not deceived others to some degree? Perhaps not in such a public way, but deceit it is none the less.
Eventually, the truth will come out, and we may not be able to control how or when. It may be a slight embarrassment, or a massive scandal, but it will come out at some point. We tell our children to always tell the truth, but before we know it, we are peddling our own protective stories to help us save face with our friends and work colleagues. Our exposure may not hit the headlines or the 10 o’clock news, but it will dent our credibility and integrity, perhaps even for the rest of our lives.
The answer is quite simple. Just be yourself. The way God made you, and the way God accepts you. Isn’t it good to know we don’t have to impress our loving Father? After all, He knows us better than anyone, and better than we know ourselves. So stop trying to be someone else, that position is already filled. You are unique, so accept who you are, just the same way that Jesus loves and accepts you! It’s a shame Lance Armstrong didn’t know that little truth, isn’t it?
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Deceitful and Wicked
Derrick Bird has run a rampage of terror in Cumbria, and right away, we analyse all the actions of a man who behaved in a totally unacceptable manner, and gunned down 12 people, then turned the gun on himself. There is no doubt that this man was deceitful and wicked as the title suggests, and we need to learn from this tragic event.
A crime like this has three elements, the gunman, the gun, and the ammunition. The gunman is out of his mind, and is not thinking clearly, so we need to do some things with the other two. At this point, we need to get rid of the PC Brigade, and the 'We have our liberty to protect' Brigade. People's lives are at risk when a gunman acts in a deceitful and wicked manner. How about these suggestions? I think they are common sense, and don't need a committee deliberating for a year or two, to come up with them.
1. Allow guns to be owned by those who have a legitimate use for them. The military. The police, and farmers for pest control. A taxi driver has no need to own a gun.
2. Keep the guns in a separate place/house from the ammunition.
3. Shut down gun clubs with immediate effect. These wee men with big guns are dangerous.
4. Don't give any gun licence to anyone with a criminal record, and that is anyone!
This guy had two guns, and the proper licences to own them. If we don't learn from this basic lesson, we will go through it all again. Do we really want to become like our American cousins who relish their 'right to bear arms' and will even produce a celebrity to brandish a high powered rifle from a podium in a speech a few yards from the White House to make a point? Lets not wait until it is too late, before we are in a similar position. Remember Dunblane? After that we learned, and changed the laws. Remember Columbine? After that, the federal US government did nothing, and it all happened again... and again....
We cannot stop a person from doing wrong, and yes evil, but we can do something to make it harder for the circumstances to make the gun, and the ammunition too readily available. A gun without ammunition is useless. Now for the PC Brigade... shut up!! Don't give me the crocodile tears while you want to continue to play with your war weapons. Don't forget, that guns have one purpose only, and that is to kill! It's not for target practice, or hunting rabbits, stupid!!!
Oh, I started with the phrase 'deceitful and wicked' relating to the crime, but let me give you the whole quote. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it"? (The Bible, that book we don't read any more). So we are all capable of doing the wrong thing, and even 'going mental' at times. The human heart is not predictable, and is capable of great good, and unfortunately evil too). That heart doesn't only belong to Derrick Bird, today's maniac gunman. That heart belongs to us too, so let's take care that we remove the means to do evil, from our reach. It's not hard to grasp, just difficult to let go, and do something which will make a difference in our own life, and in our society too.
Let's not be having this discussion again in a few months or years time. Please??
A crime like this has three elements, the gunman, the gun, and the ammunition. The gunman is out of his mind, and is not thinking clearly, so we need to do some things with the other two. At this point, we need to get rid of the PC Brigade, and the 'We have our liberty to protect' Brigade. People's lives are at risk when a gunman acts in a deceitful and wicked manner. How about these suggestions? I think they are common sense, and don't need a committee deliberating for a year or two, to come up with them.
1. Allow guns to be owned by those who have a legitimate use for them. The military. The police, and farmers for pest control. A taxi driver has no need to own a gun.
2. Keep the guns in a separate place/house from the ammunition.
3. Shut down gun clubs with immediate effect. These wee men with big guns are dangerous.
4. Don't give any gun licence to anyone with a criminal record, and that is anyone!
This guy had two guns, and the proper licences to own them. If we don't learn from this basic lesson, we will go through it all again. Do we really want to become like our American cousins who relish their 'right to bear arms' and will even produce a celebrity to brandish a high powered rifle from a podium in a speech a few yards from the White House to make a point? Lets not wait until it is too late, before we are in a similar position. Remember Dunblane? After that we learned, and changed the laws. Remember Columbine? After that, the federal US government did nothing, and it all happened again... and again....
We cannot stop a person from doing wrong, and yes evil, but we can do something to make it harder for the circumstances to make the gun, and the ammunition too readily available. A gun without ammunition is useless. Now for the PC Brigade... shut up!! Don't give me the crocodile tears while you want to continue to play with your war weapons. Don't forget, that guns have one purpose only, and that is to kill! It's not for target practice, or hunting rabbits, stupid!!!
Oh, I started with the phrase 'deceitful and wicked' relating to the crime, but let me give you the whole quote. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it"? (The Bible, that book we don't read any more). So we are all capable of doing the wrong thing, and even 'going mental' at times. The human heart is not predictable, and is capable of great good, and unfortunately evil too). That heart doesn't only belong to Derrick Bird, today's maniac gunman. That heart belongs to us too, so let's take care that we remove the means to do evil, from our reach. It's not hard to grasp, just difficult to let go, and do something which will make a difference in our own life, and in our society too.
Let's not be having this discussion again in a few months or years time. Please??
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