Sometimes a watching a movie leads me to reading the original book, which is what happened after seeing the film The Big Short. The book, written by Michael Lewis, focuses on the causes and events leading up to the subprime mortgage crisis, which eventually led to the 2008 global economic crisis. While the whole subprime disaster can be difficult to concisely explain (Lewis’ book is considered short, concise, and simple, yet is still 300 pages) one theme kept striking me: lies. The global economy came crashing down largely because of the massive mountain of lies being told by people in the financial and real estate businesses. Home buyers were often lied to, being told they could afford homes they simply could not. Those approving the loans lied to their bosses, saying people had the ability to repay their loans, when they obviously did not. The loan ratings agencies lied to investors, telling them these loans were fail-proof and a perfect investment, when in reality they were basically destined to fail. Millions of people lost their homes, their pensions, and their retirement plans because of all the lies that were being told.
God is pretty clear on His view of lying. He absolutely hates it! The command to not lie makes the Ten Commandments, as well as many lists of things God sees as an abomination (Proverbs 6:16-19 is but one example). Lets focuses on this passage from Paul in Ephesians:
assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:21-25
I hope you actually read that, because that’s some awesome stuff! Paul is telling us that Jesus and the message he teaches us is the Truth. If we believe and follow that Truth then all lies and falsehoods need to be thrown out of our lives. We are new creations in Christ, and therefore we need to stop the lies and the falsehoods of the world around us, and instead always speak the truth. Why?
- Because lies hurt: I’m guessing that all of us have been hurt by lives in your life. As seen in the global financial collapse of 2008 lies can cause pain throughout the entire world.
- Because Jesus is all about Truth: Jesus embodied the absolute opposite of lying and falsehood. Lies were one of the number one things he stood against.
- Because we are new creations in Christ: As people saved by Jesus’ love we’re expected to not live like everyone else, but to instead live like Jesus. We’re called to stop the cycle of hurt caused by lies, and instead live lives of truth and love.
Let’s start following Christ’s examples, cutting the lies our of our life and replacing them with words of truth and love.
