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Unfollow The Lie

“Here is something that the psychologists have so far neglected: the love of ugliness for its own sake.”~ H.L. Mencken

lie

The lie has made us ugly.

But still we inhale, scrolling through the wireless marketplace where once ideas flourished. Now bullies hang about, kicking over common sense, sending kindness crashing, leaving decency in shards.

What is the lie? First, answer this:

Since when is the vulture our national bird? The predators cheered, the broken hearts jeered–what Kool-Aid has made this okay?

To identify the lie, I’ve peered in the darkness, a virtual entomologist lifting every rock. I’ve squinted through the screen at the trolls, the truth-less, the paranoid, resentful self-pitiers before me. And in me.

I think I know its name,  the flattering and infuriating falsehood in the room.

The Lie:

You are superior, you are worthless. You are a god, but you don’t matter. The others must defer to your offended opinion, while you grovel for crumbs of esteem.

What a sea-sickening pendulum of un-grace we swing on. May I offer a humbling cure?

You are little and you are loved. You are limited yet you are empowered. Your life was given to be given away. When you open your heart, you will find what you’re missing. When you humble yourself, your way will be clear.

But first, unfollow the lie.

“Self-love or pride is a sin when, instead of leading you to share with others the self you love, it leads you to keep your life in perpetual safe-deposit. You not only don’t accrue any interest that way but become less and less interesting every day.” ~Frederick Buechner

“And Jesus said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Have you been sickened lately by the lie?

 

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Faith Life

Change

Christ wants us to face reality as it is, including all the fears, hurts, resentments, and self-protective motives we work hard to keep out of sight, and to emerge as changed people. ~Larry Crabb

private sign

Scandinavian genes, New England upbringing, introverted by nature– privacy is fiercely defended territory in my DNA. Add to that a 15-year bout with legalism–the conscious attempt, by outward behavior, to become what I was not–I was in trouble.

When our energies and efforts are directed toward trying to prove we are better than we are, we embrace a lie, and slowly die.

  • We pretend to be better (I’m a good person!)
  • We pretend we are doing better…

…than the voice of longing and disappointment deep within would claim.

Church people are often the worst. Testimonies are given in the past tense–I once was lost, but now I’m fine, was blind, but now I’ve arrived. So, who is most likely to stay home on a Sunday morning? The empty, doubting and confused or the self-satisfied and full?  

When I wasn’t looking, Larry Crabb’s book, Inside Out, slipped right past my PRIVATE, THANKS sign. His words exposed the true motivation behind my pious efforts–to avoid facing my own inner mess.

Change begins when we face the truth:

This life will never be complete. We will never be what we wish we could be. We will hunger and thirst, long for and sigh, disappoint and be hurt as long as we are here. To face that truth is to begin to change.

Come, all you who are weary, who hunger and thirst for what you cannot name. Come, you doubters and sinners, you losers and quitters. Come, you hopeful and despairing, haters and lovers, complainers and grateful. Come to me, the Living Water. In me your thirsty souls will find relief. 

(Psalm 63:1  Isaiah 55:1-2  John 4: 13-14; 7:37-38  Revelation 22:17)

 

 

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Faith Life

2 Lies That Will Ruin Your Day

What a fool believes, he sees. ~The Doobie Brothers

Lie #1: There is not enough.

  • Not enough love.
  • Not enough approval.
  • Not enough attention.
  • Not enough stuff.

Life is limited and there is enough of nothing to go around.

Lie #2: No one is in charge.

Therefore it is up to you to grab for what you need in this not-enough, crazy-making reality. Look at the people around you–they are your enemies, your competitors in the race to survive. Position yourself accordingly.

Do you hear the lies?

I invite you to voice the lies aloud, with conviction, “There is not enough, No one is in charge.” Do it again, shouting if you need to. How deeply imbedded are they in your approach to life? If no one is in charge, then you’d better be. If there is not enough, then you must grab for what you can.

I pay the price when I embrace these false assumptions. I simmer in worry and mistrust, assuming hostility and competition. I live as if I must at least try to steer the world. All because I believe what is not true and ignore the patient reminder,

Forget me not!

 

forget-me-nots

The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. Psalm 14: 2

How have these lies or other lies affected you? How would your life be different if you embraced their opposite?

 

 

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