no lie

but now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. - colossians 3:8-10

i'm not really sure where it all began, but for a few years now i've been hearing people say things like "not even gonna lie" or simply "no lie". at first i didn't think much of it. but i guess as i've heard it more and more and seen it grow in popularity, it has grabbed my attention. 

likewise, i'm not sure when we got to the point as a society when we started having to preface our statements or stories by saying "what i'm about to tell you isn't a lie", but to me that kinda says that anything else you say can't really be trusted. sometimes we may say some things that sound unbelievable, so it's not such a bad thing to say that it's not a lie. but then again, it's not a part of our everyday conversation to drop some strange facts that require this (unless your name is layton welborn). 

now when Jesus taught, he often would say "i tell you the truth!" some may argue a similarity and try to downplay this verbiage, but i don't feel like this is related at all to us saying "no lie." you see, when Jesus taught, he was teaching new things. he was teaching new law. he was showing people a new way. the truth, as it is used in the new testament, often refers to the word of God. 

but he also had this to say when talking about those who want to do the will of God: "those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.*" such a simple concept, isn't it? recently at a youth rally david rubio brought forth 3 things that we have to do to live Godly lives, and one was simply tell the truth. why has this become so difficult? what do we have to gain by lying as adults? deception? 

that really seems to be the only reason to live a life in which you have to inform someone when you're not lying. paul addresses this when he's instructing us on living as children of God by saying "since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.**" 

a life of deception may have the appearance of happiness, but is ultimately empty and always searching for something to make it better. we should embrace our lives as they are and stop living behind this mask. so may you be YOU. may you live a life of truth. may your words be honest. may you live without the mask. 

*john 7:18 from the new living translation

**ephesians 4:21-23 from the new living translation