A few years ago, I went through an experience that started an ongoing period of deconstructing some things I thought to be true. Certain people I admired and placed on a pedestal, I had to allow God to knock down those idols as I mercifully discovered they were not who they projected themselves to be.
I wish I could say it was a one-time occurrence. It wasn’t. Every now and then I find out another phenomenon or person is fake and I go “well, bye”. All the lies I have celebrated in the course of my lifetime are coming down one after the other.
Lies, when they have been believed, ingested, digested, and regurgitated for so long, tend to become our reality. Such that, when the truth is finally revealed, we go through a painful process of removing the cancerous belief, often piece by piece until we feel empty.
That process is necessary, however, because how else will the truth find space for expression? How can you bring materials of truth to build on a faulty, deceitful foundation? The entire foundation must go; only then can you rebuild from a place of truthfulness.
We often like to think that the people who are guilty of deception and should be punished are those who make up grand lies and schemes; politicians, celebrities, and cheating spouses. Sure, they are deceivers and will have their day of reckoning unless they repent. But you and I, the so-called “ordinary people,” have accepted many a fallacy and told our own “small lies” that we might make up the majority on the day of judgment.
I put “small” in quotes because there is no such thing as a small lie. A lie is a lie, grand or little. A small snake is still a snake.
Lies warp our reality. It dilutes our discernment, and we no longer recognize lies when we see one. We accept falsehood for truthfulness and reject truthfulness as deceit. We trust our instincts less and less because we have shut out the voice of the Holy Spirit that would have told us “…this is the way, walk in it”.
Confronting lies and revealing truth is uncomfortable.
Tearing down the walls of deceit is a painful process that takes time.
Going beyond the face value of things people say and even the façade of who the people themselves are takes commitment to not being fooled.
And yet, I have never been happier to undergo a hard process. After the initial shock of learning some hard truths, I’ve developed shock absorbers. I’m still going through my own process, but now the shock element is gone.
I’m learning to rebuild on the foundation of honesty, accuracy, and authenticity. The Holy Spirit is teaching me. I’m asking questions when I hear or read something. I look beyond photographs and propaganda.
My soul is priceless and precious. It flourishes in truth.
Reflection: What lies or half-truths do I need to let go? What information do I need to dig deeper into to unearth the truth.
