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Yesterday we took a close look at the truth and how it plays a role in our Victim-Based Society. Today we will drill down on how lies work to make victim thinking more of a part of our lives.
As we discussed yesterday, we need to know the truth. Truth needs to be our guiding light. Truth based on anything other than love will be something that works to divide and cause victims all around us.
We also saw that when we look solely to truth for the basis of identity, others that challenge that truth will be viewed in a way that makes love powerless. When truth is the foundation for identity, we are forced to defend that truth in ways that can make victims of those around us. When it comes to truth there are two points that we need to grasp in order to make truth all it is suppose to be in our lives.
The first point is that truth is something we should be willing to die for. Truth that isn't powerful enough for us to be willing to lose all we are over isn't worth being a part of our lives. The second point is similar to the first. Truth shouldn't be something we'd be willing to kill for. Defending our truth in ways to cause harm to others is a truth that is dangerous. This doesn't mean that we should never fight for what we believe. It does mean that we should be extremely careful of our actions when truth is the reason for division in our world.
The seemingly opposite of truth are lies. Lies come against the truth in ways that make the truth hard to hold onto. A convincing lies is one that has some element of truth to it. This fact is what victors need to realize when it comes to dealing with truth and lies in their lives.
We will rarely fall for a lie that is completely out of the blue. The lies that tend to trip us up are ones that take an element of our foundational truth and twist it in ways that convince us that the lie is believable. Victors need to be able to parse the truth from the multitude of lies that come our way. Where truths tend to be the foundation for who we are, lies tend to make us doubt who we are. Ignoring the truth hidden in a lie makes it so that we resist change. Focusing our attention on the lies drive us change in ways that just don't make sense.
Where the issue of truth and lies really come into play is when we are offended by what someone says about us. For the vast majority of the unkind words used against us, there is an element of truth that we need to pay attention to in order for our victor status to have the power we need in this world. We are far too quick to let offense blind us to the truth and retaliate against the lies when we are offended by what someone says about us.
I once saw Orson Wells on a talk show when I was young. Mr. Wells was a brilliant man. He was being interviewed by Merv Griffin and another guest on that show made a joke about Orson's weight. Mr. Wells was a large man at that time of his life. Merv truned to Orson and asked him what he thought of the comment that was made about how overweight he was. Mr Wells said something like the following; "The gentlemen is absolutely correct in saying I am fat. Unfortunately, he is ignorant and tomorrow I am going on a diet." This statement is a perfect example of dealing with the truth and rejecting the lies when offensive things are said about us. Let me explain that a bit.
You see, Mr. Wells faced the truth head on. He was fat! I can't say that any other way. Mr Wells knew he was over weight. He wasn't offended by that comment. That comment was true. Additionally, Mr Wells knew he had control over that situation. Going on a diet was a choice he had to change the truth that was so plainly obvious for all to see. What was inferred by this comment was that Mr Wells somehow stupid because of his size. The lie was that his weight reflected on his intellect. Orson Wells made it clear that day it is easier to change your weight than to change your mental capabilities. By facing the truth and rejecting the lie, Mr Wells turned an offensive comment into another proof of the genius this man was created to be.
We too need to be able to take the truths of what are being said about us and reject the lies that are being inferred. Offense makes it so easy to simply reject the person instead of rejecting the lies. We need to be able to learn from the truth that is being hidden in the lies and brush off the sting of the untruths that come against us. Being offended by lies is a waste of time for those of us trying to live a victor's lifestyle.
Victim thinking can't help but to happen when we simply react to hurtful words by being offended. I'm learning that, even the most hateful speech against me might contain an element of truth that might make victor living that much more possible in my life. It is when I simply discount the person for what they said, or how they said what they said, that I end up losing as much as the offender in my life.
When it comes to truth and lies, we need to have a footing from which to discern which is which. That' footing is identity in my opinion. Check out today's Bible reading with me now.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. Colossians 2:2-5 (NIV)
It sure would be nice if all the people we had to contend with were Paul's in our life. Paul authored this letter to the Colossians. He did so to encourage and unite them in the love of Christ. He had some difficult things to say to them. The truth he was presenting was done in a manner as to enable them to be able to discern the truth and reject the lies that were threatening to take them off track. It was as the Colossians were forgetting who they were that the world's lies looked like truth in a way that made it a possibility for them to get into areas they just didn't need to go.
The same can be said for our lives as well. It is as we fail to recognize who we are that what this world says about us can be either so offensive or life changing. As I said earlier, offense makes it impossible to learn from the truth of the situation. It is when we believe the lie that we make changes in our lives that make identity so hard to trust and understand.
Believing a lie that makes us want to change our ways is a terrible thing for those looking to live this life as a victor to do. When we make changes to who we are based on wrong information about ourselves, we create an altered identity that just can't be supported in the long run. It is so easy to become lost in this world when we let lies lead us to change how we let our God given identity empower what we do. Trying to change who God sees us to be is such a victim making proposition. That's why knowing the truth and rejecting the lies is paramount for those looking to trade victim thinking for victor living.
The reality is that we are not all that great at recognizing truth in the lies that come our way. It is just as true that we aren't all that adept at being able to reject the lies that come against us. We are more likely to accept the lies and reject the truth. That's a strategy that has victim thinking all over it. How do we change that strategy in our lives?
Here's what I'm finding I need to do. When I feel offended, I need to ask myself, what element of truth might there be in the hurtful words coming against me? This usually takes time for me to do. I need to cool off when I'm offended by what someone says. It is in that cooling off time that I need to allow the reality that some truth might be there that I need to apply in my life. Even if what was said was only 1% true, I need to own 100% of that 1% and reject the rest in my life.
That's what I mean when I say that those living like victors need to accept the truth and reject the lies in their life. We need to be better at recognizing truth and rejecting lies. We get better with practice.
Take time today to ask your self what is true and what are lies when you feel the world coming against you in potentially victimizing way. Own the truth and reject the lies. In doing so, you will be more of the victor God sees you to be. Let the power of the truth overwhelm the sting of the lies that you might face in your life today.
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