Lies...

There seems to be a culture of underlying corruption, one of questions more than answers. Really, is all one has to do to corrupt or detangle another's beliefs is question. Is all the serpent did with Eve was question whether or not God meant this tree, this one right here? This little guy? It's a simple rubbing of a sweater that causes a bare thread to pop out and then a simple tug from it's owner that causes the entire piece to go to into the garbage real quick. 

Lies and deceit are not as apparent as we would like them to be. Instead, for I love the use of my favorite word ever, they are, insidious. Yes, lies are sneaky little comments, jabs, questions, that to a person not very strong in their convictions tend to waver, fall, look back and be like, "whoa, that was quick." In reality, things are not as much a surprise until we look back at themt. On Netflix there is a docuseries (new word for the dictionary) about the 90's. I found it kind of funny that Tom Hanks, is an executive producer. Anyway, the doc-u-series (sound it out) depicts the culture of the 90s and what people went through, presidential stuff, but mostly entertainment. 

My brother Beau and I watched as shows like Seinfeld, Friends, Will and Grace, Ellen, shows that I was old enough to be familiar with, music that I still love, and an overall glance at the culture in which I thrived. If only because by 2000 I was 15, ignorant enough to see the good and fun of youth. The 90s was a time of.... whatever the docuseries told me, for we are easily convinced that whatever reminiscent culture documentaries say it was, that it was, but what if I remember it differently? 

What if what I saw at the time was more fear as I can recall the increased tensions between Bill Clinton and Saddam Hussein, as I recall the news depicting possible bomb threats as real as ever. What about the end of the world? As the millennium hit and the Y2K bug was going to bring it all down? All hearts paused a split second as that ball dropped brining in a new millennium as we awaited the self-destruct button to be triggered? All of my Y2K-proof items, for which I did have a strereo at the time, were not going to save me. 

What about aliens? What about small snippets of foreigners hating America burning the flag? What about my church claiming that this was a sin and that was a sin, and if I didn't repent in just the right way that I was damned to an eternity in Hell? What about my constant fear of accidentally selling my soul to the devil and constantly praying for Jesus to accept me, for I accept him, for what is acceptance technically, ahhhh get out of here Satan. 

What about the TV shows I previously mentioned discussing sexually explicit references that I didn't quite understand and just assumed? Only to find out later and be pretty surprised such a vague, grotesque reference slipped through the sensors? What about in my home life, a coming of age story, realizing that the world is getting larger and where is my place in it? The internet, discovering the ability to see naked ladies, getting sent an email from a friend of animals having sex with women, my burned eyes, my memory will never forget. What about all of the intricacies that made my day, full of fear, full of confusion?

Now, 2018, information is faster, but I doubt that actually changes anything. Anyone can argue the good of the internet age, with the bad. Maybe they offset each other? Maybe there is more communication for propaganda or that there is more government involvement and therefore more need for secrets, more deceit justified as for the greater good. Maybe the news is smoke screens for the larger act over here? Maybe....

Our physical bodies, this life, our loved ones, the actions we do, the money we make, how noble our intentions for our future generations, all of it, gone. A mere wiping of a chalk board, only leaving behind fragments, reminders of our existence. We matter little to this world, overall, we matter much to our Father. We matter in what we provide here, not that people do not care or are all selfish, but that the lies and deceit first promised to give to us are found hallow, and then to think we are that important, selfish, and then to hate the world, want to leave it by our own hands, even more selfish. We are taught lies, because that is what the world does. Lies, are the nature of Satan and this is his home. The world, is where lies are bound to, so they must thrive here. The people who inhabit the world have fallen, we are corrupted, and we have been raised by corruption, therefore to think anything naturally pure could come from such deviation, ignorant wishing. 

So, the truth will set you free, and yet we admit that we don't know what to trust anymore? A phrase driven by wills, driven by ego, ultimately fueled by fear. We have to let go and let God before any truth will arise. 

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,...Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

The message isn't anything of "preaching" or "Jesus talk" or some convoluted way to be self-righteous, but of a man whom sees glimpses of the world only to walk away more confused of what to confide in. Then, only to laugh at the display of child-like behaviors and remember what I've known all along, the truth had been here before the physical world was ever made, and it is our job to believe that truth and recognize the Father in which it came from. 

There is the life raft, neigh, the giant cruise ship that we board from the sea of lies. It is abroad this that we can look out over the vast, open seas with a larger view. It is from a safe platform, knowing how quickly some of that water can cause us to fall if we aren't fixing our eyes where they need to be. 

God Bless

Depicting a time in my life where obsession of admiration drove me to invest more in this world than anything higher, was a useful pain that may be able to help you. Body Image Disorders are a spiritual battle, for we cannot merely will our way out from under their crushing weight, but give in to the idea that our self-centered ways do not contribute, do not promote anyone but ourselves. With that, submission to the Truth allows me to fall away, give it up. 

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