Quite often, Christianity presents us with many questions as well as answers. Some of these questions arise from our actions in the past and their result on the future. One prevalent question deals with the effect of lying on our redemption and how to cope when others lie to us and when we ourselves lie to others and also ourselves. In Catholicism, we have confession with a priest to deal with these iniquities. Although I don’t go as often as I should, sometimes having someone else hear my transgressions can free up my soul so that I may receive God’s message more clearly. Only we can make the choice to listen to God, but we also face the problem of shame for anything that we might say or do. However, we must remember that God is merciful and forgiving, and we can put our trust in him to alleviate our strain. In that same chord, I wanted to share a poem about dealing with lies in my own daily life. Here it is:
“Lies destroy myself
Lies destroy who I am
Taking a swing at the success
that I do have at last
Why tell white lies to proceed?
Do they give me a big lead?
From time to time,
one says they are harmless
But I protest because the guilt
of deceiving does not sit well with the honest
Why need I be so caring?
Why not let life happen?
Because I am one who stands to light the way
I want to rise up from where I am and blaze the trail for a new day
Once the poor become men
then one will realize that everyone can
join the ranks of those who may once again
be what they believe and do what they dream
Honesty will lead me there
Believe in it and it will guide me abroad
and give me a world of laud,
which is to be shared with those who have been sawed
from the highest tree-tops
amongst the canopy of care
Life can proceed with those who believe
in the power of love and in the man above
For when one presents himself honestly,
then one can be free from distraction
and be there to stop the impaction
of evil and where it is today
For today is my day
to be free
and to keep my soul (along with others)
filled with glee”
[C.A.S.H 06/23/11]
Thoughts? Comments?