Telling the Truth

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator,” Colossians 3:9,10 
The first part of building trust is being honest with each other. Lies are told in the absence of trust—if we think the truth will not be beneficial then we may begin to lie.
        In the Garden of Eden, Eve was tempted to not trust God by the serpent. He appealed to something in all of us that is prone to distrust. In effect, he said “God does not have your best interest at heart; He has a hidden agenda that is to keep you in your place.” So trust is hard for us to build. We are a suspicious lot.
        But why are we so quick to lie? Truth told, we have much to hide. We will often exert more energy hiding the truth than it would take to tell the truth. Why? We don’t want people to know what we are really like because they may reject us or pressure us to change. So we hide behind lies. Not usually big ones, just the little ones we like to call “white lies”. But it is still a falsehood, even if a little one. We can’t ever trust each other if we tell each other lies.
        So how do we cross this bridge? Begin small. Start with one safe person and have an honest talk. Show them the real you—not some pretend person. As your relationships become more authentic—they will become healthier. They will challenge you and change you. They will become a part of God’s plan to mold you into the image of Jesus.
-Pastor Dino Griffin