becoming a man: part 3

There are alcoholics in this world. They are those who have crossed over from using to abusing alcohol. And further, alcohol has taken hold of the abuser and now is abusing them. It is addiction. It is bondage. Even those who haven't had a drop of alcohol in years, may still call themselves an alcoholic. That is because they are well aware of their extreme vulnerability to the temptation of drunkenness.

Most of us admit that there are such things as alcoholics. We admit that people are addicted to various things like drugs, alcohol, and the like. Even work can become an addiction. But how many of us see lying as a addiction?

In the battle between truth and lies, I think many of us have bought into a lie. I think many of us think of lying as an occasional offense. We imagine that lies come in ones and maybe twos. Its hard for many of us to imagine that there really are such things as "liars" in this world.

Many men have adopted this addiction in order to high their other addictions. And its not an occasional offense. More and more I am realizing that I walk in the midst of "liars." These are not people who tell an occasional white lie to hide a surprise birthday party, but they are people who live in full out deception.

Small lies, over time, develop the habit of big lies. Some men have become so comfortable with lying, that they don't realize when they are doing it until someone calls them on it. Is it easy for you to lie about an insignificant detail to an unimportant person? If so, then watch out. The father of lies is crouching at your door. Those little lies become easy. Then you become a person who is comfortable "bending" and "manipulating" the truth. You don't see it as "lying" exactly. You justify to yourself that "you are just stretching the truth." And so it begins. Your identity is in the process of shifting from a man of truth, into a liar.

A real man is about the truth. A real man strives to speak the truth in all occasions, even when it hurts. Truth in love is what we are called to. A real man feels the immediate effects of a lie told. The effects are not outward. They are inward. As soon as any form of a lie comes floating out of his mouth, he feels the pang of deception in his own soul. He is troubled buy it. He confesses it. And he prays for forgiveness.

A man of truth says the hard thing because he knows its the right thing. A man of truth bites his tongue when he can't speak the truth in love. A man of truth has read Proverbs and James chapter 3. He knows that the less crap that comes spewing out of his pie hole the better. You can trust a real man. You can trust him because you know he will speak the truth to you. You can trust him because you know he will also speak the truth to others when you aren't around.

The truth will set you free. It will set you free from the addiction of lying. It will set you free to be the man you were always meant to be.