Theme: Beyond: Next Level Living, Week Three - Honesty
Read: Psalm 34:12-14, Philippians 4:4-9
Think: Pastor Ben did a great teaching this past weekend on Next Level Living through Honesty. The thing I’ve always thought about, as a person who likes to conserve energy is how much energy it takes to keep up with lies. Everyday I’d have to get up and remember who I told what and whether I was likely to run into them that day or whether the person I’d told something different was likely to cross paths with the other one. Whew, that’s a lot of work.
So, not lying conserves energy and brings peace. See Psalm 34:12-14 “the way to long life” (low stress) and “peace” David says, is not to lie. Pastor Ben mentioned a study that indicated lying brings stress to our lives. Many of these studies indicate that liars are born out of fear, misgivings, anxiety and internal conflict. There are books written about how to know when someone is lying to you by their sweating, hand wringing and lack of eye contact, all signs of stress.
Philippians 4:4-9 tells us how to deal with fear, misgivings, anxiety and internal conflict. Always be full of joy, don’t worry about anything, pray, fix your thoughts on what is true. Instead of deciding not to lie anymore, we could fill our hearts and lives with God’s peace and find that lying cures itself.
Do: Keep a log of how many times you lie in the next day - yes, even the little "white" lies. Write down to whom you lied to and why. Assess what fear, anxiety and internal conflict seems to be associated with the lie.
Pray: Father, I want to obey Your word and Your ways. My fears and anxieties sometimes keep me from telling the truth. Fill me with Your joy, take my worries and help me to learn, memorize and love Your truths. Amen
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