True Liars

8.28.2012

1 John 1:10 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and we do not accept God’s teaching. NCV

In 1 John 1 the word liar appears twice: once, in verse 6, in reference to us in that if we say we believe in God and yet continue to walk around in darkness, we’re liars because the evidence of our lives shows our beliefs to be that of darkness and not of light. The other is in verse 10, where once again, the belief we hold (that we have no sin) makes God a liar.

Calling God a liar is ballsy. With our limited knowledge and experience, to call God a liar is dangerous. To ignore our true condition is the height of arrogance and delusion. To ignore the true condition of the human race is denial of the highest form and delusional.

Light originates in God: God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1.5). The true light that is comes from the knowledge that there is a God and I am not Him. The true light is that light which shows me where I am wrong, and then how to get where I need to be to be right – or be in the right. Right is with God and wrong is every where else. The true light that is, is the light that shows me I have a place and a purpose in God and in all He does. But to ignore that light is to disrespect God in the worst way possible – and yet it happens all the time, everyday.

1 John makes repeated comparisons of truth and lies. There is truth and there are lies. There are the truthful and there are liars. And just to ignore God doesn’t make Him go away… it only exacerbates the problem that we are in need of a Savior and without Him we face God alone armed with only our lies.

So who is the liar? The one who claims God and yet walks in the darkness is a liar and the one who claims God and yet denies his sin is a liar. “As the Scriptures say: “There is no one who always does what is right, not even one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who looks to God for help. All have turned away. Together, everyone has become useless. There is no one who does anything good; there is not even one.”  “Their throats are like open graves; they use their tongues for telling lies.” “Their words are like snake poison.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and hate.”  “They are always ready to kill people. Everywhere they go they cause ruin and misery. They don’t know how to live in peace.” “They have no fear of God.”” (Ro 3:10-18 NCV)

Father in Heaven, I have lied to You, lied to me, and lied to others. I so want to be well thought of and liked and have gone to great lengths to obtain that liking. Sadly I have denied the true light in doing so and have called You a liar. Help me to change and help me to accept Your truth that You have all I’ll ever need and my greatest safety and value is in You. Thank You for Your truth – Amen.