Tell the truth......

.....shame the devil! I heard this phrase in the most unlikely of places; TalkSport Radio. The presenters were discussing the abuse of a teenage referee by the parents of two of the players in an Under-10's match. We don't often hear about the importance of truth in our society; it seems we are intent on saying anything or doing anything to either gain some advantage, to look 'cool', to be seen to be politically correct, or to support the interests of those in our inner circle - partisans aren't limited to military conflicts!

Whilst there are a number of claims to the origins of this phrase, it appears in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 when Hotspur exclaims: 

"And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
By telling truth: tell truth and shame the devil.
If thou have power to raise him, bring him hither,
And I'll be sworn I have power to shame him hence.
O, while you live, tell truth and shame the devil!"

Humanist would argue, perhaps supported by Humanist John Dewey's (1859-1952) assertion that as there is no God, there is no absolute truth no "room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." This leaves Humanists to live life based upon what they hold as the truth, a 'personal' truth if you will. Further, if truth is personal, if we all hold onto our own truth's then surely there is no such thing as a lie? Or perhaps lies are personal too; if my truth disagrees with your truth then we see each other as liars, we all become suspicious of each other, and there is no moral imperative in society; everything is permissible. If my truth states that trees and humans should have a relationship then I can marry a tree if I so wish (providing the tree is ok with it) and society should allow me to do so. You cannot argue against it at all because this is my truth and you have no right to argue against it, stick to your own truths. Where truths collide conflict breaks out and if you take this to its extreme then society breaks down, chaos prevails and, if we all survive, we deteriorate to a tribal existence; if your truth is my truth then we can exist together.

Yet, whilst this blog is not intended to bash Humanist, I will counter their argument with the philosophical statement that absolute truth is a logical necessity, "For example, it is a fixed, invariable, unalterable fact that there are absolutely no square circles and there are absolutely no round squares" (www.allaboutphilosophy.org). So if this is an incontrovertible truth, and Humanists believe that there is no God so no absolute truth, then surely if the Humanist 'beliefs' are challenged by this simple statement we arrive at the point that there are certain absolute truths and therefore this helps prove the existence of God? A somewhat shallow argument on the existence of God I realise, but I am trying to get to the truth, not God (at this point anyway).

There is a song by Isaac "Dickie" Freeman, well more of a monologue really that tells the story of a liar, who tells a lie that gets shared and grows and ultimately, in the end, comes back and destroys the liar. So lies are destructive, and if lies are destructive then truth, as the counterbalance to this, builds. Jesus said to his disciples in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” It may "set you free" but the truth often comes at a price, and those who tell the truth often pay the ultimate price, with their lives. Which is perhaps why it is easier to tell a lie?

As a child I was a pathological liar, I made up so many stories about my past which weren't true, I found it so much easier to create my own reality through a tissue of lies then face a difficult and hurtful truth that if I revealed to others would be hurtful to me. I carried this habit into adulthood, and a career in technology was the perfect breeding ground for this. It wasn't until someone came into my life who was the antithesis of this habit that I changed, it was this change that made the 'scales fall from my eyes' and revealed the ultimate truth, what I believe to be an incontrovertible truth, that their is a God and that he saved us from ourselves (from our own lies and those of the Devil) through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus. My life was to be one of truths, some of which have cost me dearly, but I would not change it for anything.

Telling the truth can be cathartic, by doing so you are not burdened, you do not have to keep track of your lies, you do not have to tell other lies to cover your tracks and to make sure you don't get caught out. Try it, it will make you feel so good, in spite of the consequences!

So where does the Devil come in here? Well Jesus counters his discourse about the truth with his comments about the Devil, "When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) Lies are his thing, they (I guess like me before the truth was revealed) are part of his character and when we lie we are in danger of reflecting the Devil's character in ourselves. So don't do it, no matter how tiny the lie may be. Don't sacrifice the lie of trying to be 'cool', to be seen to be politically correct, or to support the interests of those in our inner circle. Don't be partisan, 'Tell the truth and shame the Devil' for the "Truth will set you free."

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