by Bill Seng
“What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness
nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every
human being a liar.” ~Romans 3:3-4
It is a case of truth vs. falsehood. Not very long ago, a
certain news anchor’s credibility was absolutely shattered because of some
blatant lies that he told. The story he concocted was not even a little white
lie or an exaggeration, but a construction that totally ignored facts in order
to make himself look good to the public. You, the reader, probably know
who I am talking about, but I will conceal his identity.
While covering the Iraq War, this particular reporter recalled
having been on a helicopter flight that had been struck by a rocket propelled
grenade. Consequently, he claimed that the helicopter had to have an emergency
landing. While grounded and waiting for a rescue team, this news anchor also
claims that a certain officer protected him and his crew. It was an event that
received much recognition in the media world. This news anchor was praised for
his nerves of steel and willingness to go where no other reporter would dare to
go to get the story that people needed to hear. Unfortunately, his story was
100% made up. Soldiers eventually became tired of him lying about his bravery
and that of this officer who protected him, and they spoke up. After the
soldiers spoke up, the story changed and changed and changed until finally it
was realized that the story this news anchor told was a complete fabrication.
Immediately after this was exposed, more lies were discovered about other
claims of his. Does everyone lie to this degree?
I don’t think so, but I do believe every man to be a liar. How
are we liars? Because we are not always true to God. When we claim to be
following Christ, for instance, but hold a grudge against someone, we are
untrue to God. If we promote false teachings, even ones in which we truly
believe, we are untrue to God. When we know the good we ought to do in a
situation and fail to do it, we have not represented God in a true manner. Face
it, we are all liars.
Despite our inability to be completely true to God, God is
always true. We are fortunate that he is always true because he says that he is
quick to forgive our sins. If we are all liars, we really need his forgiveness.
God understands our infirmities and not only that, he knows at times we are
honestly trying our best to be true but do not possess the knowledge to do so.
A long time ago it was thought that the earth was the center of the universe,
and this was accepted by the church. Today we know that this was a completely
false doctrine, but back then it made sense. I am sure that such a doctrine was
probably preached upon regularly in those days to emphasize man’s special place
in the universe. It was not intentional that the church was spreading a lie
about the universe, but when better information was made available and when the
information was noted to actually agree with Scripture, this idea was welcomed
with open arms.
Yes, God calls us to be perfect, but he also knows our
limitations. We need to be gracious toward one another by humbling ourselves in
matters of minor disagreement. There are issues that should greatly trouble us,
but most of the divisions inside of the church are over minor doctrinal
differences. We must realize that our capacity to grasp all of God’s
truths throughout the universe is limited. That is why we must acknowledge that
God is true and every human is a liar.
0 comments:
Post a Comment