Greetings to all,
" I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6 NKJV. For many that is a very exclusionary and bold statement. The truth is very often a bitter pill to swallow. While Christ loved all with heart we can barely comprehend, He was not object to laying out a harsh truth. You see in this world of political correctness and fear of hurting someone's feelings we tell "little white lies" constantly. I agree that many of them are harmless, accept that when does LWL become bigger. I mean if I want to build up my muscles I may start with 5lbs. weights for awhile and everntually move to 10,20,50, or 100lbs. At each of the increments the former weight will feel very insignificant. Lying can be like that. It can also snowball into something we never desired it to be. Funny thing is that while we say we are telling the LWL to save someone's feelings we are actually just saving ourselves from possible conflict.
I am not here to tell you when your lies have gotten out of hand. What I would challenge you to do is build relationships and trust so that when you do tell that loved one "that dress does make you look fat", they will know it comes out of love and concern.
You see that is where Christ is coming from. He loves and knows us so well that He chances bruising our sense of fairness and tolerance of differing opinions to tell us the most important truth. It's funny that people will accept a concept of heaven, yet reject the concept of hell. We will readily accept the scientific statement that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Yet when we speak or feel about our spiritual condition we only want to accept the good option. Let me assure you, Satan is real. Most of us so abhor the thought of being ruled over we reject any hint of a higher or lower controlling power. We may accept the idea of a loving God; but for the most part we won't give credence to a controlling evil.
When God saved me and forgave my sins He also opened my mind to an enlightening truth. This truth is not particular to me, all who give their lives to Christ can have it; but I don't believe those who haven't can truly grasp the depth of it. Sorry if I just tweaked your sensibilities and I may be wrong; but I don't think I am.
Can you imagine our parents letting us do whatever we wanted when we were say 2,3, or even 4. Let's see, take those keys and stick them in the electrical outlet, pull that table cloth with the hot soup or gravy down on us, I think you get my point. Doesn't that sound controlling to you? Of course not, that is protection of someone who knows no better. You see our inflated idea of maturity and intelligence blinds us to the fact that in God's eyes we are but children; His children. This leads our God to do things for our own good that we at the time, and much of our lives, do not understand.
You see that truth I was speaking of earlier is that all God leads me to is" for MY own good", not His directly. His true pleasure comes from seeing His children have the best life possible, but He loves us enough to give us freedom to choose.
So when you read something in God's Word that appears to go against the grain, ask yourself this: Would I tell my children a lie to save their feelings but might cost them their life; or do I share the truth that will eventually prosper them, though for a time we might be alienated?
Yours in Christ, Mike.