You Can’t Handle the Truth
(click on the pic to listen)
A woman gets pulled over by a police officer and….
Woman: “Is there a problem, Officer?”
Officer: “Ma’am, you were speeding.”
Woman: “Oh, I see.”
Officer: “Can I see your license please?”
Woman: “I’d give it to you but I don’t have one.”
Officer: “Don’t have one?”
Woman: “Lost it 4 times for drunk driving.”
Officer: “I see…Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.”
Woman: “I can’t do that.”
Officer: “Why not?”
Woman: “I stole this car.”
Officer: “Stole it?”
Woman: “Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.”
Officer: “You what?”
Woman: “His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see.”
The officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for
back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. A senior officer slowly
approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.
Officer 2: “Ma’am, could you step out of your vehicle please!”
The woman steps out of her vehicle.
Woman: “Is there a problem, sir?”
Officer 2: “One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and
murdered the owner.”
Woman: “Murdered the owner?”
Officer 2: “Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please. ”
The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: “Is this your car, ma’am?”
Woman: “Yes, here are the registration papers.”
The officer is quite stunned.
Officer 2: “One of my officers claims that you do not have a driver’s license.”
The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the
officer. The officer snaps open the clutch purse and examines the license. He
looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: “Thank you ma’am, one of my officers told me you didn’t have a
license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the
owner.”
Woman: “Bet you the lying son of a gun told you I was speeding too.”
Scripture:
Exodus 20:16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. Some translations say, “bare false witness.” And some translations say “lie”
Matthew 5:33-37 (NLT)
“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows (OR SWEAR FALSELY); you must carry out the vows (YOU MUST CARRY OUT YOUR PROMISE) you make to the Lord. But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. (the italicized words are my additions)
What is lying?
Webster gives us this definition:
- To make a statement that one knows is false, especially with the intent to deceive.
- To give a false impression or action or false statement, especially with the intent to deceive.
- To make a false statement in order to evade the truth.
- The invention of a false story or excuse in order to deceive
The greatest of men have lied. Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister. Jacob lied to his father Isaac to get Esau’s birth right. Annanias and Sapphira in Acts 5 lied about the money the amount of money they kept.
I tried to lie to my parents once. I learned rather quickly that lying gets you nowhere. Lying hurts other people. It destroys relationships. It starts rumors and other false stories. It could cost you your job. Lying hurts your credibility. If you can’t answer honestly – it destroys trust and the faith others might have in you. Lying cost you energy. If you lie you’ve got to remember what you said. Lying takes too much energy.
I have observed people over the past 40 some years of my life that people only lie when they want to hide something. The something we try to hide is the truth. A number of months ago a couple wanted me to marry them. They didn’t really want me to marry them they just wanted to go through the ceremony and pretend to be married. I told them I would do the ceremony for them but I wouldn’t lie to anyone who asked me and say they were married. I guess they just wanted to feel good about living together. They cancelled their ceremony.
Once again, even if this wasn’t one of the ten commandments I believe we all would still agree that this is wrong. It is never right to bear false witness about our neighbor. (not just our next door neighbor but others we know).
In Matthew 5, Jesus takes this a little farther. Jesus says, “you must not break your vow or swear falsely ( or speak falsely).” He goes a little further and says, if you have no intention of keeping your promise or you have no intention of following through on what you say – don’t say it all.’ Especially to God and to others.
One might get away with the lie but you know in your heart when you have exaggerated the truth to protect whatever you are hiding. You know in your heart when you haven’t kept a promise to a certain someone. You know in your heart when you haven’t followed through on a commitment. Jesus is telling us whether it is in your relationship with God or with others – Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Don’t lie – the consequences and the hurt it causes isn’t worth it.
What is the truth?
Truth, when it is an object, is relative.
This is why we have lawyers and judges to help us to discover what the truth is. What I see as truth is not necessarily what you see as truth. We agree on some truths but others … well ….we argue about and we discover a deeper truth. Even pastors can’t agree on the truths that are stated in the scriptures. How I see how scripture relates to a certain issue is more than likely different from some of my other pastor friends. Everyone wants to know what the truth is. Even when we hear the truth – we still question it.
Wouldn’t It would be great if everything was black and white? It would make life a whole lot simpler. But …. To some people everything is black and white. To others everything is in color. What I mean by this is that we all see and experience truth in a different way. We all have our own versions of the truth. Don’t we? This is why we have debates and discussions to figure out what the truth is .
I am glad my mom and dad taught me what they believed was right and wrong. I am glad I had a Sunday school teacher who taught me the scriptures. I am glad I had bosses who helped me learn to be a good pastor. I am glad I have a wife and family that holds me accountable to telling the truth. I believe the Bible tells the truth. They have all helped me be a man and a pastor of integrity.
But do you see what we have done to truth? We have done something that Jesus never intended us to do with it. We have turned it into an object. Jesus never intended for us to turn it into an object.
Look at John 18
33 Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?”
Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked.
In God’s kingdom, truth is not a what, truth is not even fact.
Pilate wanted him (Jesus) to state some facts about himself. Pilate wanted Jesus to say something that was true about himself. Jesus says, “you say that I am king. Actually I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”Then Pilate asked that famous question that everyone asks at some point in their life, “What is truth?”
Who doesn’t want to know what the truth is? Do you see what is wrong with the question that Pilate asks? He says, “what is the truth?” Pilate is treating the truth like is an object or a fact. He wanted the facts! He wanted Jesus to say something about himself that was true. Whenever you are dealing with an issue we want to know the truth. We want to have the facts. There is nothing wrong with wanting the facts and wanting to know what the truth is. Pilate didn’t want to kill Jesus but Jesus wouldn’t admit to anything. He didn’t have anything to admit to – He was the truth. The right question to ask is “Who is the truth?” If Pilate would have asked that question I am sure Jesus would have answered it by saying “I AM”. He says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Truth is not an object …. It is a person!
The absolute truth is a person – not a statement! Jesus never sinned. Jesus never lied. Jesus loved the world. Jesus never favored one person over the other. Jesus was perfect in every way. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, help the lame man walk, helped the mute man speak. Gave hope to the hopeless. Gave strength to the weak. Gave life to the dead.
Jesus didn’t list a bunch of facts about himself to the woman at the well, or Zacheus or Paul, to the prostitute, to the tax collector or his disciples. He simply said follow me. For Jesus it wasn’t about whose lying and who is telling the truth. It was about who is going to follow me and who isn’t?
Many Christians have turned the Word of God into a bunch of statements and facts. We use the Word of God to prove someone everyone else wrong. We use the word of God to prove that homosexuality is wrong, We use the Word of God to prove that abortion is wrong. We use the Word of God as an excuse to not hang around “those” kind of people. We use the word of God to prove our point of view. This whole book, which I believe is the truth, is about having a relationship with God not a statement of facts we use to prove others wrong. People are constantly messing up from Genesis to Revelation. God is constantly reminding that He is with them.
Here are the facts the things we are sure of:
People are going to lie to you
You are going to lie to people
People are going to disappoint you
You are going to disappoint people.
We have been doing this since time on earth began.
But if you know the TRUTH – The Truth will set you free. The TRUTH went to the cross. The TRUTH died on a tree. The TRUTH rose on the 3rd day. The TRUTH ascended into heaven.
Do you know THE TRUTH? Not facts. The person.
How can you make this personal?
First of all, lying might protect you but it hurts others. Telling the truth is always the best option. It hurts in the moment but in the long run it doesn’t hurt as much. Always tell the truth.
Secondly, Understand that truth is found in a person. He is the only absolute truth. This is why a relationship with Christ is so important. We all think we know the truth but until we know Christ it is just something, an object to be debated. One will never discover the truth without knowing Christ. When you KNOW The TRUTH – the truth will set you free.
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