Step 4 - "The truth shall make you free"

The world would have us believe that telling the truth is hard. It gets you into trouble. As a child we learn that lesson very quickly. We soon discovery our dearly friend Mr. Nobody on whom we blame all our little sins so as to avoid punishment. When I was young, I read the poem “Mr. Nobody” and thought how cute it was. Now, as an addict, I think how sadly true it is.

Mr. Nobody
I know a funny little man, As quiet as a mouse, Who does the mischief that is done In everybody's house. There's no one ever sees his face, And yet we all agree That every plate we break was cracked By Mr. Nobody.	He puts damp wood upon the fire, That kettles cannot boil; His are the feet that bring in mud, And all the carpets soil. The papers always are mislaid, Who had them last but he? There's no one tosses them about But Mr. Nobody.
'Tis he who always tears our books, Who leaves the door ajar, He pulls the buttons from our shirts, And scatters pins afar; That squeaking door will always squeak, For prithee, don't you see, We leave the oiling to be done By Mr. Nobody.	The finger marks upon the doors By none of us are made; We never leave the blinds unclosed, To let the curtains fade. The ink we never spill; the boots That lying round you see Are not our boots; – they all belong To Mr. Nobody.
Anonymous Attributed to: The Massillon Independent Wednesday, June 09, 1869 Massillon, Ohio Contributed by Ilza, February 14, 2006, http://www.emule.com/2poetry/phorum/read.php?7,153292

Somehow we learn that lying keeps us out of trouble. Unfortunately, we seem oblivious to the fact that lying is self-perpetuating. One lie requires a second to back it up and that one requires a third. Complete honesty, even when advocated, is shown to cause major problems. Jim Carrey starred in the movie Liar, Liar where he played an incorrigible liar who, because of his son’s magic wish, cannot lie for twenty-four hours. Blatant truth gets him into nothing but trouble. Somehow he learns that he needs to tell the truth but that is through the convolutions of Hollywood, because within the storyline, truth only got him into terrible trouble.

Do I admit I broke the dish or do I lie to keep from getting into trouble? Do I lie to protect someone else’s feelings? At what point does that altruism deteriorate into an excuse for “Do I lie to avoid confrontation?” The shades of gray get murkier all the time. The boss says: “Tell them I’m in a meeting.” The parent tells the child: “Tell them I’m not home.” We have become a society that worships the “white lie.” Even the “honest man” seems to think nothing of stretching the truth on his taxes or pushing the speed limit. And it goes on and on.

But the innocent white lie soon requires the more robust grey lie and eventually can’t be distinguished for the lies we tell ourselves as addicts.

So when John said “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” he may well have been talking about everything in our lives, not just the doctrines of Christ. Facing the truth of our past and our addictions is the first step to breaking the chains of the lies that have bound us. “I’m not strong enough…” “I just need one last hit…” “I’m not hurting anyone but myself…” “No one else understands…”

Break the chain of lies and we gain the hope of freedom – faith multiplied to infinity! Jesus Christ is the exemplar of truth. To recognize truth is to begin to know Him.