Have you ever believed a lie?
No one wants to be played for a fool; and yet, it happens to us all the time. Sometimes there has been a deliberate deception, but most times, we do it to ourselves. We are tired, like the pretty (exhausted) daffodil above, and we just stop struggling for the truth.
We don’t like to have a gap in our understanding, and so we “fill in” the gaps by telling ourselves stories about why something may be so. Over time, if there is no challenge to the story, we start to believe it, and may even teach it to our own children.
A long time ago, I was walking with a friend. I leaned down and picked up a piece of white stone.
“You found a moon rock!” My friend was excited.
“What the heck is a moon rock?” I asked.
“They fall from the moon,” he said, thrilled to share his knowledge. “You know how the moon is so full of holes? This is a small piece that broke off and fell to earth.”
I just stared at him and then smiled a little. “This is a pumice stone.”
His smile vanished. “Pumice?”
It’s really not fun to discover that you have believed a lie all of your life, and my heart went out to my friend. That whopper about the “moon rocks” is imaginative, but it’s not true.
“Pumice is volcanic rock. You can smooth rough callouses with it.”
“How do you know it doesn’t come from the moon?” he countered.
And then he got me. Because I couldn’t prove that the moon wasn’t made of pumice any more than I could prove it wasn’t made of green cheese. I can’t get there, for one thing.
My mind was screaming “How ridiculous! Of course the moon isn’t made of pumice stone! The moon is dry and dusty and . . . .”
And I have no primary information whatsoever about the moon. I cannot get there, and I don’t know anyone who has been there. All I have is what “they” say. And that never made a lot of sense to me anyway.
I shrugged. “OK, who knows? Maybe it is a moon rock.”
He frowned, not satisfied with “moon rocks” anymore, but unable to replace it with anything else. And that uncertainty is a terrible place to be.
We want to KNOW THE TRUTH, and we don’t want to be made a fool. But even in just the last few years, we are beginning to see that we have all been like children who were lied to by our mothers. The things we were taught are quickly being proven untrue, but we don’t have much truth to insert in the place of the lies. And we’re being careful this time, right? But we must not be afraid to believe, because we can only see what we believe.
But remaining uncertain, and not knowing whom to believe is a very hard position to maintain, so we tend to fall back into belief, any belief. When we don’t know what to believe, we tend to go with the prevailing “narrative.”
But don’t do that!
Propaganda works when the message is delivered a lot of times. Boring is acceptable, so that we don’t fully pay attention. Why do you think advertisers run the same commercials over and over? Ask anyone in the business. They aren’t trying to convince, they are trying to program. Repetition is what changes beliefs.
We are all subject to “belief creep.” (I just made that term up.) It is defined as “the slow slide toward acceptance of whatever the majority of the folks around us believe.” Or maybe whatever we think they believe. (Talk to real people to find out.)
Belief creep is real. Maybe you know someone who was very neat when they were young, but they married someone who was the opposite. Now, instead of retaining their neat ways, they have adopted the relaxed lifestyle of their partner, and the little “neat-nik” from days gone by has vanished. Or maybe you know a non-smoker who married a smoker and now they both smoke. Or perhaps you know someone who (used to) exercise regularly, but married a couch potato, and now . . .
My current beliefs are not fully “set in stone” (though my core belief in Jesus as my Savior will never change). Neither are yours. We are constantly learning, and growing, and therefore changing, and how we change depends upon the company we keep (or the influences we allow into our minds.)
“Above all else, guard your heart,” says the Proverb (4:23), “for out of it flow the issues of life.”
We live in the “information age.” We are bombarded with sounds, songs, slogans, podcasts, television programs, and videos, and that’s just during our everyday life. Everything you see, and everything you hear enters your mind, even if you aren’t paying attention to it, and it has the power to affect change in you.
Do you turn things off once in a while? Do you create an oasis of silence in which to relax? I know it’s a struggle, because the box in your hand is always there, notifying you of things (as I typed those words, it “notified” me!)
But let me give you permission to take a break. Don’t be afraid. If necessary, let your loved ones know that you are on a break, but do take one. (Especially at night when you sleep!) Put your phone in the other room, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, go outside and just listen. What do you hear?
It might take a moment, but maybe you’ll hear a song bird, or little “spring peeper” frogs. Maybe you will hear kids playing a few houses down. Or if you live in the country, maybe you’ll hear the lambs bleating. Close your eyes to make it easier to hear. You know what that sound is?
It’s real life.
Now open your eyes. Look up. What do you see? Is the sun setting? (Wonderful!) Or is the moon out? (It may be out in the daytime, too!) Are there flowers outside? Little birds? Take the temperature of the world for a minute, and in the process, wake up your own senses. What’s happening?
A few days ago we were visiting friends and walking through the yard.
“Listen! Can you hear them?”
I was walking behind and so didn’t hear what I was supposed to be listening for, so I was just quiet, listening. There was a slight squeaky-creaky sound that came from the ground.
“There it is!” Everyone was so happy, but I was clueless.
“What is it?” I whispered to Beau.
“Nightcrawlers,” he said. “Worms.”
Unbelievable. I seriously didn’t believe it at first. But when we heard it again and then saw the worm, I accepted it.
So there we were, walking in the twilight, listening to worms. And I wasn’t thinking about the snarky comment someone tweeted to someone else, or wondering about nuclear inspections in Iran. I didn’t care who was the director of the ATF. I was busy listening to something I had never heard before. Even though I was a little weird-ed out (a creaking sound made by a worm?), I was in a state of amazement that was strangely satisfying. (God made a huge worm that makes a squeaky sound when it comes out of the earth!)
There are real mysteries out there, folks! It’s perfectly all right to be in a state of wonder. Give yourself time to understand, and time to just appreciate. It does take time because we can only process so much. Our brains may be able to process things quickly, but our minds need time. There is so much to consider.
Yes, we have been lied to and fooled. But it’s mostly because we, as human beings, can’t stand not knowing. We feel a strong need to nail it down. But the truth is that we cannot even perceive all there is to know. Birds or even flies, see better than we do, and dogs hear better. We are limited. For now.
“Now we see through a glass darkly, but then, face to face. Now I know in part; but then will I know even also as I am known. ” 1 Corinthians 13:12
It’s all right if we don’t know everything, because we can’t. It’s even all right to hold beliefs that are incorrect, until you know the truth. Be patient with yourself. Take some time and examine your beliefs. Throw out the old lies and be cautious about what comes in.
And be kind when you share with others what you “know.” Maybe you’ll be like me and get halfway through and realize that you don’t really know what you know. We “pick up” knowledge and trust a little irrationally now-a-days. (Video can be faked, voices can be faked, and other people lie. Sorry, but the lies only work when you think the person is telling you the truth. We have all been lied to.)
This is the nearly-full August moon from 2023.
What have you actually experienced? Did you hear that thing in real life, or did you just see the video? Real life things are a lot more reliable, as reliable as your own ears and eyes. Now you’re getting closer to what you “know,” Sherlock!
And it’s all right to admit that you don’t know, but don’t stay there. Because there are answers to your questions, though you may need to ask for help. The truth is out there, and wants to be known.
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelations 3:20
When God calls you, it feels like a longing deep in your heart. Maybe you will long to read the ancient truths in the scripture, or maybe you will want to be outside. The truth is real and it’s everywhere. Look as long and hard as you like, but it won’t change. It is more than skin deep, so don’t be afraid to dig in. There are solid answers!
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
“This saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16
“Rest for your souls.” That sounds so good doesn’t it? I wish you a restful evening, and I am sorry for not writing earlier. Pray for me, for I am wrestling and struggling. Thank you, my friends. And I will pray for you. Much love to you!
The Fullers Four 