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.

Step 4 - Weakness and strength

There is a scripture that I have come to believe and understand:

“I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).

When I was young, I suffered teasing and isolation. I don’t have enough memory to know why I was the bunt of practical jokes or why I had so few friends. I know my mother says she cried often because I would come home from school and hide myself away in my room, crying. What I don’t have are any happy memories of school.

But as I look back at those painful times, I realize that the teasing and isolation that I suffered as a child made me empathetic to the suffering of others – made me desperate to avoid hurting anyone else like I had been hurt. What was a miserable time of my life forged what is probably my best trait. I think this is an example of a weakness becoming strength. If something good can come from that sadness, maybe the Lord really can take what I am going through and turn it around into something good.

When we overcome a weakness, we find the strength that the Lord has planted inside of us; we discover His hand within our lives. It is in the trial of fire that the strength of iron is forged. It is in the season of scarcity that the strength of roots grows deep. It is by facing our weakness and turning to the Lord that He can give us strength.